The West Point Military Academy Commencement address short hand: “Enjoy it now… and don’t retire or get injured…” As NYTimes notes, President Obama plans to use a speech at the West Point military academy on Wednesday to lay out a foreign policy vision for his final two-and-a-half years in office, defending his approach against a wave of criticism that he has been too passive on the world stage.
As NYTimes concludes,
The West Point speech comes just days before Mr. Obama heads overseas again, this time to Europe where his international leadership will be tested as he tries to pressure Russia to stop disrupting a new pro-European government in neighboring Ukraine. He will leave Washington on Monday night headed for Warsaw, where he will reassure Poles and other Eastern Europeans that the United States will stand by its NATO allies against any potential Russian aggression.
From there, he will head to Brussels to meet with other leaders of the major industrial powers known as the Group of 7 for its first annual summit meeting since suspending Russia, which was to have host the gathering. Mr. Obama has strained to coordinate the American response to Moscow’s intervention in Ukraine with European allies who have been more reluctant to take action that could jeopardize their economic ties with Russia.
Mr. Obama will end his trip in Normandy, France, to mark the 70th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, which turned the tide in World War II. That may be the most awkward stop because among the leaders planning to attend is President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.
via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1nBdxKt Tyler Durden