US Opinion and Commentary

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Obama’s Record on Foreign Policy Is Incomplete

Posted March 29th, 2016 at 12:55 am (UTC-4)
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Although Obama wants people to remember the new relationships he’s opened, like those with Cuba and Iran, his legacy will inescapably include Iraq and Syria too.

Obama’s Implicit Foreign Policy

Posted February 26th, 2016 at 9:58 am (UTC-4)
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I have based my foreign policy on some tough realities that are hard to talk about because no American likes to hear about the limits of our power. But those limits have grown. American power in the 21st century cannot be what it was in 1945 — or even in 1990.

A Plague of Black Swans in the Middle East

Posted February 25th, 2016 at 10:04 am (UTC-4)
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[T]he Obama Doctrine…is a cruelly pragmatic strategy…(assuming) the U.S. cannot solve all the problems of the region…and is unwilling to act as a surrogate for our friends in the region…none of the (presidential) candidates would likely go back to a policy that was politically and financially costly, often related only distantly to actual U.S. interests,

Navigating the Road Ahead

Posted February 24th, 2016 at 3:33 pm (UTC-4)
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It has become a campaign staple to trash President Barack Obama’s foreign policy initiatives from Iraq, Cuba to Russia. American presidential hopefuls have the luxury of hindsight without the responsibility of Syria, Afghanistan, China and many other global concerns resting on their shoulders. But by this time next year, someone else will be making the tough calls from the Oval Office. It’s ironic that Obama won his first term with a pledge to end the seemingly endless, and deeply unpopular, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And he did fulfill those promises. However, by the time these policies were in place, the world seemed to have moved on to new crises, including the emergence of Islamic State out of the ashes of Iraq and the violent turmoil in Syria. All of this—and—more awaits the next President of the United States.

The Endless War on Terror

Posted November 20th, 2015 at 3:09 pm (UTC-4)
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Exactly one week after Islamic State militants unleashed a fury of killing across Paris, news came of armed men storming a western hotel in Mali and taking civilians hostage. It is yet another sad reminder that terrorists are in our midst. The so-called “war on terror” officially began just days after September 11, 2001. Fourteen years later, that battle has not yet been won. Increasingly, there is a weary acceptance that this is not a singular war that can be won. Terror comes in many forms and, as the events of the past week show, on many fronts. That realization has not stopped the search for a strategy to smash terror groups and improve security. Experts agree it will be a very long and complex effort.

Our Shameful Foreign Policy

Posted October 2nd, 2015 at 10:48 am (UTC-4)
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Obama gave up the moral high ground a long time ago. He repeatedly refused to engage in the Syrian situation. He refused to deal with ISIS, considering them amateurs. The situation festered, and the Russians have taken advantage of the power vacuum left by Obama’s dithering.