The words in President Obama’s “State of the Union” speech were often lofty, spinning through the air with the greatest of ease and emitting dog whistles as they flew.

Let’s decode the President’s smooth oratory in the realms of climate change, war and civil liberties.

The administration of President Barack Obama—in particular, the Justice Department—maintains the targeted killings of United States citizens believed to be members of al Qaeda is legal. A leaked white paper that NBC News provides a glimpse at the cold calculus behind the justification for such operations.