US foreign policy is failing worldwide.
The EU:
The document explicitly called the EU a "target".Barack Obama seeks to limit EU fallout over US spying claims
A spokesman for the Office of the U.S. Director of National Intelligence had no comment on the Der Spiegel story.
Martin Schulz, the president of the European Parliament, said that if the report was correct, it would have a "severe impact" on relations between the EU and the United States.
Egypt:
Activists criticize U.S. Amb. Anne Patterson, Obama for supporting Muslim Brotherhood
Morsi's out
Russia:
Snowden Watch: Why Putin is Loving It
The Russian leader loves to humiliate Washington, and he now has the ultimate tool.
Afghanistan:
Grim Milestone: Over Twice as Many U.S. Soldiers Have Died in Afghanistan Under Obama In 3 1/2 Years Than Did Under Bush in 8 Years
Of course, more have died in the 14 months since that was published.
Increased drone strikes, especially against brown-skinned people:
Study: US drone strikes more likely to kill civilians than US jet fire
Bottom line: is there any component of US foreign policy wherein the US is in better shape now than when Obama took office, through actions of the president or his Secretary of State?
Update, July 5, 2013: Foreign Policy doesn't pull any punches:
U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration has achieved the hat trick of alienating all factions in Egypt.
Update #2, July 5, 2013: Granted, I couldn't care less what the Bolivian government thinks of us, but I thought the world was supposed to love us once we got rid of that half-cocked cowboy and got us a gen-u-ine Nobel Peace Prize winner for president:
The president, who expelled the U.S. ambassador in 2008, said he wouldn't hesitate to boot the embassy, too."Without the United States," he said, "we are better politically and democratically."
No Darren, is their any part of US policy is any area that had not gotten worse. Economic, foreign policy, the budget, fuel cost, society, etc. Everything is worse.
ReplyDeleteAny yet B Hussein Obama wins reelection.
What has happened to this nation.
Mmmm, pretty much everything is worse.
ReplyDeleteWith the arguable exception of education policy at the federal level.
Arne Duncan's still running around grating on the nerves of supporters of the district-based public education system and talk, in politics, is important even if there's not much substance to back up the talk. It's arguable that by blabbing about the importance of reforming the public education system Arne Duncan's helping to keep the pot boiling at the state level where there have been significant positive developments over the past couple of years. And Arne Duncan's still the Secretary of Education because Obama's turned a deaf ear to the National Education Association's complaints.
But that's about it. In every other area of domestic policy Obama's a failure.
In foreign policy Obama's a more mixed bag.
While Obama's certainly tried to be a lefty's wet dream on foreign policy with such stunts as his International Tour of Apology and his lack of any coherent foreign policy doctrine he has kept the Taliban, and thus Al Queda, from re-establishing Afghanistan as a base of operations. Obama's also chalked up quite a tally of Al Queda big shots. Guantanamo Bay is still in operation and the effort to try its residents in civilian courts is dead.
On balance though American foreign policy has little focus and American prestige has declined.
Guantanamo Bay is still open *despite* his first official act as president.
ReplyDeleteAs for al-Qaeda, he *has* continued to have some of them killed. Is our position in the world any better with the Nobel Peace Prize winner, though, because of this?
Allen
ReplyDeleteThe killing list is not as good as it seems.
B Hussein Obama seems mesmerized with the concept he can order a man killed as an abstract concept. He had personally ordered drone strikes from the WH. Now there is no question these targets are enemies of the county but wouldn't it be more useful, in the big picture, to capture and interrogate these al-Qaeda members for intelligence? Once they are dead we can't talk to them.
That is one of the things that infuriated the professionals about B Hussein announcing immediately that UBL had been killed. His room had a treasure trove of intelligence but once his network knew he was out, that was limited. Thanks again Barrack.