I was considering today developing a list of recent American successes in foreign policy. After all, we have been told by the pollsters that the American people consider national security as an issue just a bit less important than the economy in determining for whom they will vote. Our security as a nation depends on our foreign policy, and that current policy is the product mostly of president Obama but also of Hillary Clinton (from her days as secretary of state.) So what are America's successes? I thought we could break up those successes by continent.
1. North America -- The US relations with the other countries in North America are no better than they were when the Obama/Clinton years began in 2009 with one exception: Cuba. The USA and Cuba are re-establishing diplomatic relations after a break of about 55 years. That break in diplomatic relations and the long America boycott of Cuba were established by president Kennedy because Cuba had become a Marxist police state. Cubans were denied basic rights and lived under government control. Cuba also became a sponsor of terrorists and revolutionaries who sought the overthrow of other governments mostly in Latin America. Today, Cuba remains a Marxist police state where Cubans are denied basic rights and live under government control. Cuba is also sponsoring attempts to overthrow other governments in Latin America. Obama, however, has decided to abandon the effort to contain Cuba and is, instead, resuming diplomatic relations. Is that a success? You decide.
Beyond Cuba, however, the US relationship with our most important friends in North America has been injured during the Obama/Clinton years. Our most important trading partner and closest ally has long been Canada. Many Americans don't even consider Canada to be really a foreign country. Obama, however, has treated the Canadians with little regard. His delay of the Keystone XL Pipeline for political reasons for six years has rightly angered the Canadians. Obama may be willing to forego the 40,000 or so construction jobs that the pipeline would create in the USA. Once open, however, that pipeline would create many tens of thousands of jobs in western Canada. For Canada, that is an enormous and important number of jobs.
Obama has also worsened US relations with Mexico. First there was Fast and Furious in which the Justice Department actually arranged for illegal weapons to be sold to the Mexican drug cartels. So far, a US border agent has been killed with one of those weapons. At the same time, however, a great many Mexicans have been killed with these weapons. Obama has not even apologized to the Mexicans for arming these criminals. Then there's Obama's border policy (or lack of a policy). This too has created chaos along the Mexican border and done damage to the many towns on the Mexican side. Neither Obama nor Clinton made any effort to improve conditions there, and the American relationship with Mexico has suffered as a result.
2. South America -- This is a continent for which there has been no improvement in relations but many areas where those relations have worsened. A good example here is Brazil. The president of Brazil found out that the USA was eavesdropping on her calls and even on meetings at her offices. To say the least, this chilled the relationship between America and the largest country in South America. Then there is Argentina which has been having a major economic and political crisis. The USA has done nothing meaningful about that at all. No one would have expected America to bail out Buenos Aires, but it might have been nice to see Washington at least pay attention to the problem. The Argentine president regularly blasts Washington as responsible in part for all of that country's problems.
3. Europe -- America's stature in Europe has collapsed during the Obama years. Let's start with the so called "Russian reset". Obama and Clinton decided to forget about the Russian invasion of Georgia which had occurred in late 2008 and to "reset" relations as if nothing had happened. That move convinced Vladimir Putin that America would do nothing if he invaded his neighbors. As a result, we got the Russian invasion of Ukraine and a low grade war in southeastern Europe that still continues. Obama talks about taking steps to stop the Russians, but Putin basically ignores Obama.
Then there's NATO. America's relationship with NATO has gone downhill during the Obama years. In 2008, the USA could count on the support of the major NATO powers for international efforts. Britain had troops for years in Iraq and Afghanistan. So too did a host of other NATO powers. Today, the level of involvement by NATO in anti terrorism efforts is woefully low. In essence, NATO ignores Obama.
And in NATO, there's the UK. The special relationship between Britain and the USA lasted for many decades under both Republican and Democrat presidents and Tory and Labor prime ministers. Once Obama got into office, however, he rejected that relationship. Silly but symbolic things like getting rid of a bust of Winston Churchill from the Oval Office or sending Queen Elizabeth II a birthday present consisting of recorded speeches of Obama (and in a format that would not be capable of being played on European equipment) told the British that they were no longer special as far as our leader is concerned.
But we are supposed to be looking for success stories. In Europe, there aren't any.
4. Africa -- when the Obama/Clinton years began, America and Egypt were close friends. Libya, under Gaddafi, was a dictatorship, but it did not support terrorists and it no longer tried to develop weapons of mass destruction. In just a few years, Obama/Clinton managed to destroy the relationship between the USA and Egypt. The Egyptians currently are seeking to buy weapons from China and to possibly form an alliance with Russia. In Libya, Gaddafi was overthrown with American and European help, but there was no plan ever even considered in Washington regarding what would come next. As a result, Libya is a failed state overrun by terror groups and from which the infection of Islamic terrorism continues to spread.
In Nigeria, the situation during the Obama/Clinton years has been dire. Boko Haram has spread its terror through much of the country. The only response from Obama has been to support a hashtag campaign on Twitter to denounce the terrorists. America is no longer looked at as being of any help there.
The response to ebola has been a success, although this is more of a medical issue rather than a foreign policy one. Indeed, the response to ebola has been perhaps the Obama administration's only foreign real success.
5. Asia -- Here's another continent with no success joined with a great deal of failure. When Obama and Clinton took office, Iraq was a success story. Obama even tried to take credit for what president Bush had done that had forced essentially all of the terrorists from Iraq. Then Obama abandoned the Iraqis and sat on the sidelines while ISIS gained a foothold. Even with ISIS controlling about a third of the country and many thousands being slaughtered, Obama continues to do essentially nothing. And how about Syria? About a quarter of a million people are dead, the Syrians are still using chemical weapons, Iran has armed forces inside Syria, and things continue to get worse. Afghanistan is another disaster area. Most of our troops have left, but conditions in Afghanistan remain terrible.
North Korea has been developing nuclear warheads capable of hitting all American cities. Obama has done nothing to try to prevent this.
Relations with Israel are strained for the first time in decades. Obama has consistently sided with the Palestinians and against the Israelis. That position has won America no love from the Arabs, but it has hurt our standing with the Israelis. It is the basic "lose-lose" situation.
6 -- Australia and Antarctica. American relations with countries on these continents have not changed all that much during the Obama years.
The question that voters will have to ask is whether or not the USA can withstand another four years of idiotic foreign policy and all the damage it brings with it.
1. North America -- The US relations with the other countries in North America are no better than they were when the Obama/Clinton years began in 2009 with one exception: Cuba. The USA and Cuba are re-establishing diplomatic relations after a break of about 55 years. That break in diplomatic relations and the long America boycott of Cuba were established by president Kennedy because Cuba had become a Marxist police state. Cubans were denied basic rights and lived under government control. Cuba also became a sponsor of terrorists and revolutionaries who sought the overthrow of other governments mostly in Latin America. Today, Cuba remains a Marxist police state where Cubans are denied basic rights and live under government control. Cuba is also sponsoring attempts to overthrow other governments in Latin America. Obama, however, has decided to abandon the effort to contain Cuba and is, instead, resuming diplomatic relations. Is that a success? You decide.
Beyond Cuba, however, the US relationship with our most important friends in North America has been injured during the Obama/Clinton years. Our most important trading partner and closest ally has long been Canada. Many Americans don't even consider Canada to be really a foreign country. Obama, however, has treated the Canadians with little regard. His delay of the Keystone XL Pipeline for political reasons for six years has rightly angered the Canadians. Obama may be willing to forego the 40,000 or so construction jobs that the pipeline would create in the USA. Once open, however, that pipeline would create many tens of thousands of jobs in western Canada. For Canada, that is an enormous and important number of jobs.
Obama has also worsened US relations with Mexico. First there was Fast and Furious in which the Justice Department actually arranged for illegal weapons to be sold to the Mexican drug cartels. So far, a US border agent has been killed with one of those weapons. At the same time, however, a great many Mexicans have been killed with these weapons. Obama has not even apologized to the Mexicans for arming these criminals. Then there's Obama's border policy (or lack of a policy). This too has created chaos along the Mexican border and done damage to the many towns on the Mexican side. Neither Obama nor Clinton made any effort to improve conditions there, and the American relationship with Mexico has suffered as a result.
2. South America -- This is a continent for which there has been no improvement in relations but many areas where those relations have worsened. A good example here is Brazil. The president of Brazil found out that the USA was eavesdropping on her calls and even on meetings at her offices. To say the least, this chilled the relationship between America and the largest country in South America. Then there is Argentina which has been having a major economic and political crisis. The USA has done nothing meaningful about that at all. No one would have expected America to bail out Buenos Aires, but it might have been nice to see Washington at least pay attention to the problem. The Argentine president regularly blasts Washington as responsible in part for all of that country's problems.
3. Europe -- America's stature in Europe has collapsed during the Obama years. Let's start with the so called "Russian reset". Obama and Clinton decided to forget about the Russian invasion of Georgia which had occurred in late 2008 and to "reset" relations as if nothing had happened. That move convinced Vladimir Putin that America would do nothing if he invaded his neighbors. As a result, we got the Russian invasion of Ukraine and a low grade war in southeastern Europe that still continues. Obama talks about taking steps to stop the Russians, but Putin basically ignores Obama.
Then there's NATO. America's relationship with NATO has gone downhill during the Obama years. In 2008, the USA could count on the support of the major NATO powers for international efforts. Britain had troops for years in Iraq and Afghanistan. So too did a host of other NATO powers. Today, the level of involvement by NATO in anti terrorism efforts is woefully low. In essence, NATO ignores Obama.
And in NATO, there's the UK. The special relationship between Britain and the USA lasted for many decades under both Republican and Democrat presidents and Tory and Labor prime ministers. Once Obama got into office, however, he rejected that relationship. Silly but symbolic things like getting rid of a bust of Winston Churchill from the Oval Office or sending Queen Elizabeth II a birthday present consisting of recorded speeches of Obama (and in a format that would not be capable of being played on European equipment) told the British that they were no longer special as far as our leader is concerned.
But we are supposed to be looking for success stories. In Europe, there aren't any.
4. Africa -- when the Obama/Clinton years began, America and Egypt were close friends. Libya, under Gaddafi, was a dictatorship, but it did not support terrorists and it no longer tried to develop weapons of mass destruction. In just a few years, Obama/Clinton managed to destroy the relationship between the USA and Egypt. The Egyptians currently are seeking to buy weapons from China and to possibly form an alliance with Russia. In Libya, Gaddafi was overthrown with American and European help, but there was no plan ever even considered in Washington regarding what would come next. As a result, Libya is a failed state overrun by terror groups and from which the infection of Islamic terrorism continues to spread.
In Nigeria, the situation during the Obama/Clinton years has been dire. Boko Haram has spread its terror through much of the country. The only response from Obama has been to support a hashtag campaign on Twitter to denounce the terrorists. America is no longer looked at as being of any help there.
The response to ebola has been a success, although this is more of a medical issue rather than a foreign policy one. Indeed, the response to ebola has been perhaps the Obama administration's only foreign real success.
5. Asia -- Here's another continent with no success joined with a great deal of failure. When Obama and Clinton took office, Iraq was a success story. Obama even tried to take credit for what president Bush had done that had forced essentially all of the terrorists from Iraq. Then Obama abandoned the Iraqis and sat on the sidelines while ISIS gained a foothold. Even with ISIS controlling about a third of the country and many thousands being slaughtered, Obama continues to do essentially nothing. And how about Syria? About a quarter of a million people are dead, the Syrians are still using chemical weapons, Iran has armed forces inside Syria, and things continue to get worse. Afghanistan is another disaster area. Most of our troops have left, but conditions in Afghanistan remain terrible.
North Korea has been developing nuclear warheads capable of hitting all American cities. Obama has done nothing to try to prevent this.
Relations with Israel are strained for the first time in decades. Obama has consistently sided with the Palestinians and against the Israelis. That position has won America no love from the Arabs, but it has hurt our standing with the Israelis. It is the basic "lose-lose" situation.
6 -- Australia and Antarctica. American relations with countries on these continents have not changed all that much during the Obama years.
The question that voters will have to ask is whether or not the USA can withstand another four years of idiotic foreign policy and all the damage it brings with it.
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