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By Eric Bradner, CNN

updated 9:21 AM EST, Sun December 21, 2014

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama says he plans to push to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility during his final two years in office -- potentially fulfilling a major campaign promise that he hasn't yet accomplished.

"I'm going to be doing everything I can to close it," Obama said in an interview with CNN's Candy Crowley that aired Sunday on "State of the Union."

"It is something that continues to inspire jihadists and extremists around the world, the fact that these folks are being held," Obama said. "It is contrary to our values."

Related: Obama calls alleged North Korea hacking vandalism, not war

The President's comments follow a flurry of executive action at the start of what he called his "fourth quarter" in the Oval Office -- after Republicans walloped Democrats in November's midterm elections, taking control of both houses of Congress.

After the election, Obama quickly announced an overhaul of U.S. immigration rules and new regulations aimed at curbing environmentally-harmful emissions. He followed those moves this week with a deal that represented the biggest steps to thaw the economic freeze with Cuba in decades.

The Guantanamo Bay, Cuba detention facility -- which Obama pledged to shut down as part of his 2008 campaign, but saw his plans thwarted when Congress passed a law prohibiting him from doing so -- could be another target ripe for executive action.

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Obama to do 'everything I can'

President Obama vowed Thursday that Afghanistan would not "be a source of terrorist attacks again," crediting America's military for helping make the nation more secure as the U.S. prepares to end its combat mission there.

On a Christmas Day visit with service members at a Hawaii military base, the president thanked troops for their sacrifices during more than a decade of "continuous war."

"We still have some very difficult missions around the world," Obama said, noting the role U.S. forces will continue to play in Iraq and Afghanistan in assisting local security forces, as well as helping to deal with the Ebola outbreak in Africa. "But the world is better, it's safer, it's more peaceful, it's more prosperous and our homeland is protected because of you and the sacrifices [you make] each and every day."

"So on a day when we celebrate the Prince of Peace and many of us count our blessings, one of the greatest blessings we have is the extraordinary dedication and sacrifices you all make. We could not be more thankful. I know I speak for everyone in the entire country when I say, we salute you."

The president's Christmas afternoon trip to Marine Corps Base Hawaii is an annual ritual, but had added significance this year with the coming milestone in the U.S. fight against terrorism. After year's end, the up to 10,800 troops that could remain in Afghanistan will transition from a combat role to a training and assistance role.

The base is on the Mokapu Peninsula on the eastern end of the island of Oahu, a five-minute drive from the Obamas vacation rental in nearby Kailua.

Before Christmas Eve dinner on Wednesday, Obama also phoned deployed service members from each branch of the military to thank them for their service. And Vice President Joe Biden, who had been spending the holiday week at home in Delaware, visited patients at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda on Christmas Day.

The first family began their day by opening presents and singing Christmas carols at their vacation residence, according to the White House. Later, they spent more than two hours on the beach at nearby Bellows Air Force Station.

The Obamas arrived in Hawaii late last Friday for their annual year-end visit to the president's birth state. He's due to depart for Washington on Jan. 4, just in time for the start of the new congressional session.

Follow @mikememoli for more updates on President Obama's trip to Hawaii.

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Obama hails troops' sacrifice as Afghan milestone nears

KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii President BarackObamamarked the end of more than a decade of combat in Afghanistan by paying tribute to America's military, tellingtroopson Christmas Day that their sacrifices have allowed for a more peaceful, prosperous world to emerge out of the ashes of 9/11.

At an oceanfront Marine Corps base in Hawaii,Obamatold troopsthat while tough challenges remain for the US military in hotspots like Iraq and West Africa, the world as a whole is better off because Americantroopsput country first and served with distinction. He said Americans and their president could not be more thankful.

"Because of the extraordinary service of the men and women in the American armed forces, Afghanistan has a chance to rebuild its own country,"Obamasaid to applause from Marines and their families. "We are safer. It's not going to be a source of terrorist attacks again."

Thirteen years and $1 trillion later, the US is preparing to pull the vast majority of its combattroopsout of Afghanistan by year's end, as the US and its partners seek to turn the page on a bloody chapter that started the day that al-Qaida militants struck American soil on Sept. 11, 2011. From a peak 140,000 troopsin 2010, the US and NATO plan to leave just 13,500 behind for training and battlefield support.

Although there are reasons for cautious optimism, including a new Afghan president whose seriousness of effort has inspired US confidence, the broader picture still looks grim.

The US is shifting to a supporting role after the bloodiest year in Afghanistan since the 2001 US-led invasion. Civilian casualties this year are on track to hit 10,000, and some 5,000 Afghan forces were also killed in 2014, a figure that has escalated as the country took on a greater role in its own security. Insurgents have seized territory across the country, raising fears that Islamic militants will successfully exploit the security vacuum formed as the US pulls out.

Roughly 2,200 UStroopswere killed in Afghanistan over the last 13 years in a war that cost the S $1 trillion, plus another $100 billion for reconstruction. A celebratory cheer of "hooah" rang out from the hundreds oftroopshere whenObama affirmed that the combat mission was finally ending.

"We still have some very difficult missions around the world including in Iraq,"Obamasaid. But, he added, "the world is better, it's safer, it's more peaceful, it's more prosperous and our homeland protected because of you."

On the US mainland and across the globe, other prominent leaders were fanning out, echoing the president's message with their own Christmas visits and phone calls to Americantroops.

Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, visited Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, to spend time with woundedtroopsand their families and express gratitude for their service. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called military members on deployment, the Pentagon said, including those in Afghanistan and others assigned to US Central Command, which is running the U.S. mission to fight the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.

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Obama tells troops 'the world is better ... because of you'

WASHINGTON President Obama says the United States is less racially divided despite the tensions raging from deadly police shootings and emotional protests.

Compared to six years ago when he made history as the first black president, Obama says American race relations are on the upswing.

I actually think that its probably in its day-to-day interactions less racially divided, Obama told National Public Radio.

Americans, however, seem to disagree.

A Bloomberg Politics survey out this month found a majority of Americans 53 percent feel interactions between white and black communities have deteriorated since Obama took office.

The choke-hold death of Eric Garner on Staten Island and fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. sparked nationwide outrage when the white officers in both cases were not criminally charged. Obama has sought to channel the frustration into a national campaign for better police relations.

Americans have been divided by race over the outcome. The majority of white Americans agreed with the decision not to charge Ferguson Officer Darren Wilson in Browns death, while nearly all blacks disagreed.

A slight majority of whites, however, disagreed with a grand jurys decision not to charge Office Daniel Pantaleo in New York, according to Bloombergs survey.

Obama also expressed optimism the New Year will usher in cooperation in Congress under GOP control. Now youve got Republicans in a position where its not enough for them simply to grind the wheels of Congress to a halt and then blame me.

Read more:
Obama says US less racially divided

Published December 25, 2014

Dec. 25, 2014: President Barack Obama, with first lady Michelle Obama, points toward a child in the audience as he greets troops and their families on Christmas Day.(AP)

President Obama paid tribute to the military saying the sacrifices of the American troops have allowed for a more peaceful, prosperous world to come out of the ashes of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Obama marked the end of Afghan combat at a Marine Corps base in Hawaii Christmas Day. Obama still remarked about the challenges American troops face in hotspots such as Iraq and West Africa.

"Because of the extraordinary service of the men and women in the American armed forces, Afghanistan has a chance to rebuild its own country," Obama said to applause from Marines and their families. "We are safer. It's not going to be a source of terrorist attacks again."

The US is preparing to pull most of its combat troops out of Afghanistan by years end after invading the country to strike against Al Qaeda as retribution for the horror of Sept. 11. The U.S. and NATO plan to leave 13,500 troops in Afghanistan for training and battlefield support.

The U.S. is shifting to a supporting role after the bloodiest year in Afghanistan since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion. Civilian casualties this year are on track to hit 10,000, and some 5,000 Afghan forces were also killed in 2014, a figure that has escalated as the country took on a greater role in its own security. Insurgents have seized territory across the country, raising fears that Islamic militants will successfully exploit the security vacuum formed as the U.S. pulls out.

Roughly 2,200 U.S. troops were killed in Afghanistan over the last 13 years in a war that cost the U.S. $1 trillion, plus another $100 billion for reconstruction. A celebratory cheer of "hooah" rang out from the hundreds of troops here when Obama affirmed that the combat mission was finally ending.

"We still have some very difficult missions around the world including in Iraq," Obama said. But, he added, "the world is better, it's safer, it's more peaceful, it's more prosperous and our homeland protected because of you."

Obamas visit to the Marines came in the middle of his holiday trip in Hawaii after a tumultuous year in Washington.

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Obama touts end of combat mission in Afghanistan