Obama: Next President Must Lead Without Becoming World Policeman

President Barack Obama said that the next president of the United States will have to address the country’s security interests abroad without acting as an international law enforcer.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The next president of the United States will have to address the country’s security interests abroad without acting as an international law enforcer, President Barack Obama said in his last State of the Union address.

"How do we keep America safe and lead the world without becoming its policeman?" Obama said on Tuesday evening.

Obama raised the issue of US influence abroad as a major question that "we as a country have to answer regardless of the next president is."

The president defined US leadership as "a wise application of military power, and rallying the world behind causes that are right," and urged the United States to avoid "ignoring the rest of the world."

Barack Obama also claimed that US leadership in the world is sought after more than leadership from Russia or China.

"Surveys show our standing around the world is higher than when I was elected to this office, and when it comes to every important international issue, people of the world do not look to Beijing or Moscow to lead — they call us," Obama said on Tuesday.