US President Barack Obama gave his final national security address [text] in Tampa on Tuesday, urging the next administration to stay true to the American stance against torture. The president began by commending service men and women in their part against the ongoing battle against terrorism. He noted several successful ventures undertaken during his administration, which resulted in defeats to al Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS), and called again for the closure of Guantanamo. He urged the next administration to maintain this legacy of security through seven key points addressed in his speech. Accountability and transparency, diplomacy, the maintenance of civil liberties, and continuance of an anti-torture policy were all values the president urged the next administration to sustain. Obama ended his address by assuring, that through theses values, “[t]hat’s how we can sustain this long struggle. That’s how we’ll protect this country. That’s how we’ll protect our Constitution against all threats, foreign and domestic.” Before departing he said,”[i]t has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your Commander-in-Chief.”

The threat presented by terrorist organizations has been an on-going international concern. In August the UN issued a report detailing the “terrible atrocities” [JURIST report] committed by the IS against the Yezidi people and other ethnic and religious groups in Iraq. In July the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concern for an estimated 200,000 civilians [JURIST report] stuck in three Syrian towns and stated that he was perhaps most concerned with the situation Manbij in the eastern rural area of Aleppo Governorate, where the conflict between IS and the Syrian Democratic Forces has intensified. In May Human Rights Watch reported IS militants had executed 49 people [JURIST report] in the Libyan city of Sirte since seizing control in February 2015.