Obama targets Trump in final speech on terror

Washington : President Barack Obama delivers his final address on the fight against terrorism Tuesday, in a speech that will resonate as a message to his successor Donald Trump, who has yet to spell out his own anti-terror strategy.

Speaking from MacDill Air Force Base -- the Florida headquarters of the Special Forces Command and CENTCOM, command for the US military in the Middle East -- Obama is expected to defend his two-term record on counterterrorism, from Afghanistan to Iraq and Syria. 

Obama left the White House late Tuesday morning for Tampa, where he will touch upon his failed bid to close the Guantanamo military prison in Cuba and his continued strong opposition to the use of torture -- positions greeted with scorn by President-elect Trump during the campaign.

The US leader, who ordered the successful raid against Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in 2011, also intends to underscore the "complexity" of the fight against terror, according to top advisor Ben Rhodes.

"That's something you can only experience as president," Rhodes said, adding it will be crucial for the future US administration to precisely understand the threat, maintain strong relations with allies and pair military action with clear diplomacy.

In particular, Rhodes stressed, it is necessary to keep in mind "who we are as a country". 

Trump, who has pledged to upend his predecessor's entire agenda including foreign and security policy, takes over in the White House in just over six weeks.

On the campaign trail he pledged to restore waterboarding -- a form of simulated drowning widely regarded as torture -- and permit "far, far worse".

Obama, in contrast, banned extreme CIA interrogation techniques used on terror detainees as soon as he took office.

He has long argued that such practices are ineffective, violate American values and hand militants a potent recruiting tool for the likes of the Islamic State group.

The US president also plans to defend his warfare tactics against IS jihadists in Iraq and Syria: no ground troops but military support for local security forces, and an intense air campaign with support from an international coalition.