Obama: SOTU Foreign Policy Highlights So Far

Impact

A lot coming all at once! Here are the highlights:

-- Obama hints that he will bring legal framework behind the CT policy (e.g. drones) to Congress and be more transparent

-- The administration's policy of funding surrogate counterterrorism efforts without putting American boots on the ground (e.g. in Mali, in Somalia) will continue and supercede previous efforts that emphasized the American military (e.g. Afghanistan, Iraq).

-- Obama will pursue sanctions or other isolating actions against North Korea

-- Obama will engage Iran towards a diplomatic solution

-- Obama will work with Russia to reduce nuclear arms levels

-- More free trade treaties with both Asia and Europe