President Obama spoke at the US Military Academy commencement at West Point on Saturday.  Admiral Mullen will address the US Air Force Academy graduation on Wednesday.  The Naval Academy graduation will be addressed by Vice President Biden on Friday.

Obama’s address, which can be viewed at the White House website, contained some interesting quotes.  Many focused on his stated “international order” and missed his statements on religion and war: 

So the threat will not go away soon, but let’s be clear: Al Qaeda and its affiliates are small men on the wrong side of history. They lead no nation. They lead no religion. We need not give in to fear every time a terrorist tries to scare us. We should not discard our freedoms because extremists try to exploit them. We cannot succumb to division because others try to drive us apart. We are the United States of America… (emphasis added)

The highlighted portion above is very similar to the point this site has often made when political activists have suggested that America curb its freedoms in order to placate its adversaries.

Finally, he said:

America does not fight for the sake of fighting. We abhor war. As one who has never experienced the field of battle — and I say that with humility, knowing, as General MacArthur said, “the soldier above all others prays for peace” — we fight because we must. We fight to keep our families and communities safe. We fight for the security of our allies and partners, because America believes that we will be safer when our friends are safer; that we will be stronger when the world is more just.