Even before the onset of his presidency in January 2009, Barack Obama was calling for a reset of America’s position in the world. Buying into the view that the U.S. was a belligerent force that all too often rode roughshod over other nations in the pursuit of its own interests, he vowed to recalibrate the country’s foreign policy by reaching out to Russia, China, Iran, and the Muslim world in friendship and with offers of mutual cooperation.
The expectation was that this kumbaya-type outreach would bring about a new age of global harmony.
Given the less than salutary results of Mr. Obama’s foreign policy, it’s no surprise that the president has been looking to burnish his legacy in the twilight of his presidency with a fair measure of hyperbole and overstatement. But nothing prepared us for the startling evaluation Mr. Obama offered up last week as a general summary of his performance on the world stage.
Speaking at the White House with young Southeast Asian leaders, he declared that his administration had restored the U.S. to the position of “the most respected country on earth.” Here is part of what he said:
People don’t remember, but when I came into office, the United States in world opinion ranked below China and just barely above Russia, and today, once again, the United States is the most respected country on earth. Part of that I think is because of the work we did to reengage the world and say we want to work with you as partners with mutual interests and mutual respect. It was on that basis we were able to end two wars while still focusing on the very real threat of terrorism and try to work with our partners in Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s the reason why we are moving in the direction to normalize relations with Cuba and the nuclear deal that we are trying to negotiate with Iran.
Where, we wonder, has the president been for the past six and a half years?
Of course, almost as soon as he entered office the Russians, the Chinese, and the Iranians reacted predictably to his overtures, saying, in effect, “Thanks but no thanks.” Russia then proceeded to take back, by force, Slavic territory that was once part of the old Soviet Union – and hasn’t stopped yet. Meanwhile, China continues to stake out claims to ever more areas in the South China Sea.
Iran, for its part, continues to thumb its nose at the U.S. in negotiations that were supposed to thwart Tehran’s ability to build a nuclear arsenal. Indeed, Iran has skillfully maneuvered the United States into the role of supplicant, with the administration begging for a deal – almost any deal.
Quite a comedown from the time President Obama admonished the Iranians that an American resort to military action was still on the table if they refused to knuckle under.
Earlier this week the president told an Israeli interviewer that “the best way to prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon is a verifiable, tough agreement.… A military solution will not fix it. Even if the United States participates, it would temporarily slow down an Iranian nuclear program but it will not eliminate it.”
This is the same president who recently acknowledged that, at best, the proposed deal with Iran will expire in ten years and that afterward Iran basically would be free to do whatever it wanted.
And even these concessions have come amid reports that Iran – a year and a half into the negotiations, which are scheduled to end at the end of this month – is refusing to allow a broad, unannounced inspection regime and insisting that economic sanctions must be lifted even before it takes the first steps toward compliance with its commitments.
Further, despite Iran’s commitment to cut down on its production of nuclear material and despite the administration’s claim that Iran was in compliance, according to a report released last Friday by the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran’s stockpile of nuclear fuel has increased about 20 percent since the beginning of the negotiations.
As a consequence of the administration’s humiliating capitulation to Iran, nations in the Gulf region such as Saudi Arabia are very publicly seeking ways to deal with the looming threat of a nuclear Iran, telling anyone who will listen that the U.S. cannot be relied upon to neutralize the Iranians. In fact, many believe a regional nuclear arms race is in the making.
This is to say nothing of the shame President Obama brought on the United States by his setting “red lines” and then just ignoring them, as was the case when Syrian president Bashar Assad used chemical weapons against rebels challenging his regime.
Consider also that Islamic State terrorists continue to gobble up ever more territory in Syria and Iraq while committing unspeakable atrocities along the way; Libya remains in turmoil after the Benghazi attacks by al Qaeda, a group the U.S. assured the world had been chased from the country; and President Obama has signaled that he has basically given up on trying to bring Israel and the Palestinians to the negotiating table after years of encouraging unrealistic Palestinian expectations. And the consequences of the Arab Spring continue to roil the Middle East.
So what is the basis for that alleged worldwide respect for America the president is touting? To be fair, Mr. Obama hardly deserves sole blame for the aforementioned difficulties. His predecessor, George W. Bush, gets a good share of it as well, especially for too easily committing American military power and not learning the lessons of Korea and Vietnam that there are circumstances where the efficacy of such power is severely limited.
But while Mr. Obama is justly wary of getting us into another quagmire, it is his duty to address the challenges arising on his watch. Sadly, he seems to have abandoned this responsibility altogether.