Declaring that the decade of American war is ending, President Barack Obama Monday commenced his second term with the promise to resolve US differences with other nations peacefully. Speaking at his colorful inauguration ceremony on the imposing Capitol building, Obama also vowed the United States’ unstinted support for democracy in Asia and the Middle East. “We, the people, still believe that enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war,” Obama told his enthusiastic supporters – estimated to be under one million – who crowded at the National Mall for the grand public swearing-in festivities while freezing winds blew across the District of Columbia.
Constitutionally, the second term for the US president and the vice president commenced on Monday, as both Barack Obama and Joseph Biden took oath in private ceremonies. Obama’s comment on end to the decade of war referred to the U.S. conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, started by his predecessor George W Bush in the aftermath of 9/11 terrorist attacks. Obama brought the Iraq war to an end in his first term and has pledged to conclude the combat mission in Afghanistan with drawdown of American forces by 2014. In his carefully worded, speech Obama paid tribute to the American men and women in uniform and observed that, Americans, seared by the memory of those lost, know too well the price that is paid for liberty.
“The knowledge of their sacrifice will keep us forever vigilant against those who would do us harm. “But we are also heirs to those who won the peace and not just the war, who turned sworn enemies into the surest of friends, and we must carry those lessons into this time as well,” the first African-American president, joined at the ceremony by the First Lady Michelle Obama, their daughters, and members of Congress, added. Obama promised to “defend our people and uphold our values through strength of arms and rule of law.”
“We will show the courage to try and resolve our differences with other nations peacefully – not because we are naïve about the dangers we face, but because engagement can more durably lift suspicion and fear. “ America, he stated, will remain the anchor of strong alliances in every corner of the globe. “We will renew those institutions that extend our capacity to manage crisis abroad, for no one has a greater stake in a peaceful world than its most powerful nation. “We will support democracy from Asia to Africa; from the Americas to the Middle East, because our interests and our conscience compel us to act on behalf of those who long for freedom. And we must be a source of hope to the poor, the sick, the marginalized, the victims of prejudice – not out of mere charity, but because peace in our time requires the constant advance of those principles that our common creed describes: tolerance and opportunity; human dignity and justice.” Commenting on the issue of climate change, Obama said Washington would respond to the threat of climate change, “knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations.” “Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms. The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it. We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries – we must claim its promise. That is how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure – our forests and waterways; our croplands and snowcapped peaks. That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God.”
