Obama announces 'terrorism partnership fund'

WEST POINT, N.Y., May 28 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama called for a $5 billion fund to fight global terrorism, seeking to reframe U.S. foreign policy as one of international consensus.

Speaking in West Point, N.Y., on Wednesday, Obama said the proposed funding would go toward maintaining peacekeeping forces and training security forces in hot spots including Yemen, Libya and Mali.

"We must broaden our tools to include diplomacy and development; sanctions and isolation; appeals to international law and -- if just, necessary and effective -- multilateral military action," he said.

Obama stressed the collective and multinational nature of his foreign policy vision, and called on the U.S. Congress to financially support what he identified as a new Counterterrorism Partnerships Fund.

His address to graduates of the U.S. Military Academy noted the invasion of "every country that harbors terrorist networks is naïve and unsustainable," and praised U.S. involvement that isolated Russia in the Ukrainian crisis and forced Iran to negotiate over nuclear issues.

The speech was the first expected from Obama in the next 10 days regarding foreign policy, a response to critics who say U.S. foreign policy has been weak. He will travel to Poland, meet with G7 leaders in Belgium and participate in D-Day anniversary ceremonies in France.