By Joe Crowe   |   Tuesday, 26 Apr 2016

During a speech in Germany Monday, President Barack Obama said "We are fortunate to be living in the most peaceful, most prosperous, most progressive era in human history" before he announced that he was sending 250 more American special forces troops to Syria, according to the Washington Times.
"Most people live in democracies. We're wealthier and healthier and better educated, with a global economy that has lifted up more than a billion people from extreme poverty," the president said in Hanover, ending his tour of the Middle East and Europe. "That doesn't mean we can be complacent."

Obama noted the apparent increase in "intolerance in our politics" and the "dangerous forces" around the world threatened to pull society backward; "our progress is not inevitable," the Washington Times reports.

Obama credited the Affordable Care Act in his speech, saying, "I'm proud to be the first American president to come to Europe and be able to say that, in the United States, health care is not a privilege, it is now a right for all."

He called on leaders of Europe to unite to fight terrorism and to improve conditions. "A united Europe — once the dream of a few — remains the hope of the many and a necessity for us all."