Obama and Foreign Policy

On March 7^th, 2014, Reihan Salam wrote an article in National Review Online titled “The Agenda.”  In speaking to the American citizens, Salam asks if the Crimea crisis has anything to do with President Obama. 

While the author reviews some of President Obama’s interactions with foreign altercations within the last decade, he claims that Obama does not hold his ground very strongly, nor does the President portray clear, solid, and confident decisions when it comes to foreign affairs.  The author writes, “Though the president came out in favor of an armed intervention after (contested) allegations of the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons against opposition forces, he seemed ambivalent about the idea, and he abandoned it relatively quickly.” 

Salam also leans toward the idea that Obama is an antiwar politician, despite what Obama says in the following.  “In a 2002 address, Obama argued that to oppose the Iraq War was not to be “anti-war” as such, but rather to be opposed to “a dumb war … a rash war.”  More of the authors evidence of Obama being an antiwar politician includes the facts that the President opposed the Iraq War, was eager to free the United Stated from its involvement in the new Iraqi state, being keen to place a firm time limit on the presence of United States military forces in Afghanistan, he has been willing to negotiate directly with the Iranian government without actively consulting United States allies in the Arabian Gulf, as well as supporting an armed intervention during the Libya crisis only after the French and British had already intervened.

Obama is more concentrated on domestic issue rather than foreign policy, and indeed we have plenty of domestic issues at hand.  I’m not suggesting that this is a bad thing, however, if foreign nations become unstable and do not balance themselves out in a timely manner, it will effect other nations and U.S. allies as well, in turn, directly effecting the United States, and if a world power (United States) does not act as a world leader, someone will step up to the plate and down we move on the hierarchy. 

One can only hope for peace among all nations for so long, if there are no positive changes then the leader must regulate accordingly.

I do believe that the Crimea crisis involves the President’s foreign policy and the United States as a whole, especially with Russia, at a minimum, breaking international laws.  I agree with attempting to defuse the situation diplomatically before utilizing military force as we have up to this point, however, it looks like Vladimir Putin has a different end game in mind. 

I agree with the author on the account of Obama not holding his ground very strongly, or portraying clear, solid, and confident decisions when it comes to foreign affairs.  I find the author to be credible, he used factual statements when talking on theses points, and when mentioning anything of speculation on his part, he states it so.