“Empathy is at the heart of my moral code and it is how I understand the Golden Rule — not simply as a call to sympathy or charity, but as something more demanding, a call to stand in somebody else’s shoes and see through their eyes.”
– Barack Obama in his book “The Audacity of Hope”

“Whatever mistakes we have made, the plain fact is this: The United States of America has helped underwrite global security for more than six decades with the blood of our citizens and the strength of our arms.
We have borne this burden not because we seek to impose our will. We have done so out of enlightened self-interest – because we seek a better future for our children and grandchildren, and we believe that their lives will be better if others’ children and grandchildren can live in freedom and prosperity.”
– Barack Obama in his Nobel speech, 2009

“I believe that all nations, strong and weak alike, must adhere to standards that govern the use of force… we have a moral and strategic interest in binding ourselves to certain rules of conduct… I believe that the United States must be a standard bearer in the conduct of war.”
– Barack Obama in his Nobel speech, 2009

“U.S. military commanders consistently fail to make the most fundamental distinction between combatants and civilians that is at the heart of the laws of war.
They issue a wide variety of illegal orders that include “weapons free” (formerly “free fire”) rules of engagement; orders to “kill all military age males”; air strikes on buildings where combatants have taken cover among large numbers of civilians; and brutal collective punishment of civilian populations.”
– Barack Obama in his Nobel speech, 2009
[Obama has rapidly accelerated the use of drones in which more than 70% of those killed are civiiians]

“What we need from the President of the United States is not another hypocritical speech… This means ending U.S. wars and occupations, radically reassessing the genuine defense needs of his country, bringing his government into compliance with its international treaty commitments and enforcing its own laws.”

Barack Obama in his Nobel speech, 2009