This is a great look at Obama’s views and foreign policy rationale. I like how he calls out a lot of DC think tanks for constantly coming up with military responses that favor Israel and Arab nations. I agree with most of what he says and it is one of the reasons why Obama has been such a great president.
How? Honestly how? He gathered the international community to get together and reach a deal to curb Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon. GWB launched 2 wars (i’ll even give him that many would have gone into Afghanistan) but the invasion of Iraq was one of the worst foreign policy decisions of American history, so Obama isnt even the worst of the last 2 presidents.
Im not even saying Obama was a great president, I think he was ok, but he also didnt have much to work with. I doubt any of the next few presidents have much of a chance either until both sides can come to some sort of agreement to end this arms race of polarization from the sides of each party.
^ Iran is now flaunting that agreement. The middle East is much worse off now than pre-Obama, mostly due to Obama stoking a revolution without thinking about the long term consequences. Then in Europe Putin invaded and seized a European country. No action. Obama’s biggest failure though has been on U.S. credibility. It used to be that when the U.S. drew a line, no one dared to cross it. Now Obama draws lines all over the place that everyone disregards because they know the U.S. is full of it on pretty much everything they say. Putin, don’t you dare go into Ukraine or else! Assad don’t you dare use chemical weapons on civilians or else! Blah, blah, blah. No one cares what America says anymore, Obama has made the word of the U.S. a joke.
People crossed lines all the time before Obama. Russia has always crossed lines, so has China. The US only ever “enforced” the rules with tiny little countries that always resulted in proxy wars with Russia.
Foreign policy has never been black & white and while Iran may be “flaunting that agreement” (which who knows if that bit is true or total BS) the agreement shows progess and since the new president showed he was able to make progress through diplomacy they have elected more liberal/less hardline people that can lead to further cooperation. If you read much of what the average younger citizen of Iran thinks they dont really hate America, they dont hate the world, they just want to live in peace and have opportunities. Im not entirely sure what you would like to do, further send this nation into debt by invading Syria and “liberating them”. More sanctions for russia? They dont work, guess we should invade them too. Good luck. Stop war mongering. The US was never as powerful as many in the US seem to think.
^^ I don’t think the U.S. should try to liberate Syria. Obama shouldn’t have made the foolish mistake of supporting radical Islamists overthrowing secular (though heavily flawed) governments in Libya, Egypt and Syria. His mistakes there (one’s that have Hillary’s mark all over them as well) have destabilized the region further, killed thousands, led to ISIL and the refugee crisis. It was all avoidable if he stayed out of the fray in Libya/Tunsia.
Whenever someone says Obama was the worst President ever (or best President ever, for that matter) in any particular area, I immediately suspect that the person writing either does not know what they are talking about, or that they have very little historical perspective.
Why is it Obama’s fault that Putin invaded Ukraine? This is a fight between Ukrainians and Russians and not relevant to core American security. As for Assad bombing civilians, Americans have no apetite for declaring war on another Middle eastern dictator. I doubt Canadians have any interest in sending their soldiers to go die in Syria but you expect Americans to?
This argument is especially foolish considering Putin happily bombed Georgia when Bush was president, and Bush couldn’t do anything…but we are supposed to forget that.
The Iran deal is a massive accomplishment and one of the highlights of his presidency.
Obama declared war on Assad (and Ghaddafi and Mubarack) via proxy by funding, training and arming radical Islamists. The reason so many have died and are displaced in Syria is U.S. foreign policy under Obama.
Obama did not declare war on Assad, Gaddafi, and Mubarak. The funding and training of Islamists has been a permanent fixture of US policy under multiple presidents since the 1960s, and Obama has been extremely restrained in that in order to avoid creating another Taliban.
For example, this guy was trained during the Bush years: