Obama's Berlin speech: History raises the stakes

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US President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama and their daughters Sasha, left, and Malia disembark from Air Force One at the Tegel airport in Berlin Tuesday, June 18, 2013. Obama arrived for a two-day official visit to Germany. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

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Obama's Berlin s... US President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama and their daughters Sasha, left, and Malia disembark from Air Force One at the Tegel airport in Berlin Tuesday, June 18, 2013. Obama arrived for a two-day official visit to Germany. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Red Cross' Guant... In this pool photo of a sketch by courtroom artist Janet Hamlin and reviewed by the U.S. Department of Defense, attorney James Connell, center, Pentagon-appointed defense lawyer for Sept. 11 co-conspirator Ammar al Baluchi, questions retired U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Bruce MacDonald, who last served as the 40th Judge Advocate General of the Navy, via video conference during the pretrial hearings at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base in Cuba, Monday, June 17, 2013. Five Guantanamo Bay prisoners accused of helping orchestrate the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks returned to court Monday as arguments resumed over the preparations for a trial that remains distant. At far right is the self-proclaimed terrorist mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. (AP Photo/Janet Hamlin, Pool)
UN says number r... Afghan refugee children, swim in muddy water created from a broken water pipe, on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan, Monday, June 17, 2013. Pakistan hosts over 1.6 million registered Afghans, the largest and most protracted refugee population in the world, according to the U.N. refugee agency. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
Obama to renew c... President Barack Obama listens to French President Francois Hollande during the G-8 summit at the Lough Erne golf resort in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, Tuesday, June 18, 2013. The final day of the G-8 summit of wealthy nations is ending with discussions on globe-trotting corporate tax dodgers, a lunch with leaders from Africa, and suspense over whether Russia and Western leaders can avoid diplomatic fireworks over their deadlock on Syria’s civil war. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Turkey's 'standi... FILE - This is a June 11, 1963 file photo of Thich Quang Duc, a Buddhist monk, burns himself to death on a Saigon street South Vietnam to protest alleged persecution of Buddhists by the South Vietnamese government. (AP Photo/Malcolm Browne, File)
AP EXCLUSIVE: US... U.S. Navy sailors stand in formation aboard the USS Stockdale before maneuvers with the Jordanian Navy in the Gulf of Aqaba, Jordan as part of Eager Lion, a multinational military exercise, Tuesday, June 18, 2013. Under the watchful eye of stern-faced American advisers, hundreds of U.S.-trained Jordanian soldiers are holding war games that could eventually form the basis of an assault in Syria. There is fear of spillover from the Syrian war in this U.S.-allied kingdom, and the potential for a Jordanian role in securing Syria's chemical stockpiles should Bashar Assad's regime lose control. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Cuban dissident:... Ofelia Acevedo, the wife of the late Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya who died in a car crash, talks to the media talk about her family’s decision to seek political refuge in the U.S., in Miami, Fla., Tuesday, July 18, 2013. Paya was killed in a car crash along with another dissident in 2012 in Cuba. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)
G-8 and beyond: ... G8 leaders from left, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron and US President Barack Obama attend a working session during the G-8 summit at the Lough Erne golf resort in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland on Tuesday, June 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Yves Herman, Pool)
Brazil protester... Protestors gather in front of the Metropolitan Cathedral in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Tuesday, June 18, 2013. Some of the biggest demonstrations since the end of Brazil's 1964-85 dictatorship have broke out across this continent-sized country, uniting multitudes frustrated by poor transportation, health services, education and security despite a heavy tax burden. (AP Photo/Nelson Antoine)
EU, US agree to ... President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron help students paint a mural during a visit to the Enniskillen Integrated Primary School in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, Monday, June 17, 2013. The visit takes place before leaders from the G-8 nations are to gather to discuss the ongoing conflict in Syria, and free-trade issues. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
US, Taliban to s... Muhammad Naeem a representative of the Taliban speaks during a press conference at the official opening of their office in Doha, Qatar, Tuesday, June 18, 2013. In a major breakthrough, the Taliban and the U.S. announced Tuesday that they will hold talks on finding a political solution to ending nearly 12 years of war in Afghanistan as the Islamic militant movement opened an office in Qatar. American officials with the Obama administration said the office in the Qatari capital of Doha was the first step toward the ultimate U.S.-Afghan goal of a full Taliban renouncement of links with al-Qaida. (AP Photo/Osama Faisal)