| US President Barack Obama outlined plans to limit the use of US drone strikes against extremists abroad. |
| He also took steps aimed at breaking a deadlock on closing the Guantanamo Bay military prison. |
| In a major foreign policy speech, Mr Obama limited the scope of what his predecessor, George W Bush, had called a global war on terror after the 11 September 2001 attacks. |
| "Our nation is still threatened by terrorists," Mr Obama said at Washington's National Defense University. |
| "We must recognise however, that the threat has shifted and evolved from the one that came to our shores on 9/11." |
| Faced with criticism about the morality of using unmanned aerial vehicles to wage war in distant lands, Mr Obama said the United States will only use drone strikes when a threat is imminent. |
| This amounts to a nuanced change from the previous policy of launching strikes against a significant threat. |
| "To say a military tactic is legal, or even effective, is not to say it is wise or moral in every instance," Mr Obama said. |
