& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS

Give diplomacy a chance: Obama

Says US must move away from permanent 'war footing'

Agencies
President Barack Obama declared Tuesday that America must move away from a permanent war footing to give diplomacy a chance to resolve some of the world's toughest problems, such as the nuclear standoff with Iran.
In his annual State of the Union address, Obama told
Americans that 2014 should be the year to finally close the US prison at Guantanamo Bay as the United States winds down its military role in Afghanistan.
Obama renewed his old vow - dating back to the start of his presidency five years ago - to shut the internationally condemned jail at the US Naval Base in Cuba, and he called on Congress for further action to help him do so.
"This needs to be the year Congress lifts the remaining restrictions on detainee trans-
fers and we close the prison at Guantanamo Bay," Obama said. "Because we counter terrorism not just through intelligence and military action, but by remaining true to our constitutional ideals and setting an example for the rest of the world."
"Even as we actively and aggressively pursue terrorist networks," Obama said, "America must move off a permanent war footing."
In a speech that focused mostly on domestic issues, Obama reminded Americans that he had already imposed "prudent limits" on deadly US drone strikes against al-Qaeda and its allies - a campaign that has drawn criticism for civilian casualties in countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan and Yemen.
"We will not be safer if people abroad believe we strike within
their countries without regard for the consequence," he said.
And he called on US lawmakers to hold off any new sanctions on Iran for now, to allow time for fledgling negotiations between the Islamic republic and six global powers to work.
"The sanctions that we put in place helped make this opportunity possible. But let me be clear: if this Congress sends me a new sanctions bill now that threatens to derail these talks, I will veto it.
But although he was poised to order military strikes on Syria late last year, the bloody three-year conflict in which some 130,000 people have been killed drew barely a mention in the high-profile national address.
He also reasserted the pledge he made earlier this month to reform US surveillance activities.