Why Obama's speech was one of the 'best of his presidency'

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• Obama defends drones, renews pledge to close Gitmo in counterterror speech
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• AP controversy shows test of striking a security balance

Holder: Drone strikes have killed 4 Americans since 2009

Counterterrorism drone strikes have killed four Americans overseas since 2009, Attorney General Eric Holder acknowledged on Wednesday.

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• Report says prosecutor behind 'Fast and Furious' leak
• Obama to grads: 'No time for excuses'

Were the bombings preventable?

Could the Boston Marathon bombing have been prevented?

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Alright Already, We'll All Drone On

By MICHAEL FALCONE (@michaelpfalcone) NOTABLES ‘OUR FIGHT ENTERS A NEW PHASE’: In a wide-ranging speech at the National Defense University, in Washington D.C., on Thursday, President Obama launched a spirited defense of his administration’s efforts to pursue terrorists overseas, even while he outlined a more...

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• Watch: Obama Promises More Oversight on Drone Strikes
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• Obama Orders DOJ Review of Leaks
• Obama: 'This War, Like All Wars, Must End'
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• Watch: Obama on Guantanamo Heckler: 'Worth Paying Attention To'
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• Darrell Issa to Lois Lerner: Assertion of 'Fifth' Invalid
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• Watch: Obama to Address New Drone Strike Limits
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Obama seeks end to perpetual U.S. 'war on terror'

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Twelve years after the "war on terror" began, President Barack Obama wants to pull the United States back from some of the most controversial aspects of its global fight against Islamist militants.

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• Obama to lay out rationale for drone strikes in speech
• Obama to lay out rationale for drone strikes in speech
• Los Angeles mayor-elect vows to put recession in rear-view mirror
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