Obama's foreign policy report card by Juan Cole

[Douglas Carpenter]

Obama's foreign policy report card

You'd never know it from the MSM, but he deserves high grades for his work so far in Iran, Iraq and Pakistan

By Juan Cole

link to full article:

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2009/10/26/obama_report_card/

Oct. 26, 2009 |

When Obama came into office in January, 142,000 U.S. troops were in Iraq, conducting regular patrols of the major cities. His Republican rivals were dead set against U.S. withdrawal on a strict timetable. He faced something close to an insurrection from some of his commanders in the field, such as Gen. Ray Odierno, who opposed a quick departure from Iraq. Moreover, Obama assumed the presidency at a time when Iran and the U.S. were virtually on a war footing and there had been no direct talks between the two countries on most of the major issues dividing them. In February, the government of Pakistan virtually ceded the Swat Valley and the Malakand Division to the Pakistani Taliban of Maulvi Fazlullah, allowing the imposition of the latter's fundamentalist version of Islamic law on residents, and Islamabad had no stomach for taking on the increasingly bold extremists.

Eight months later, it is a different world. While it is still early in his presidency, and there is too much work unfinished to give him an overall grade, it's already apparent he's outperforming his predecessor.

Iraq: B Obama has decisively won the argument over Iraq policy. Despite the massive bombings in Baghdad on Sunday -- the most deadly since 2007 -- the U.S. troop withdrawal is ahead of schedule and seems unlikely to be halted.

Iran: A There has also been movement on Iran. On Oct. 1 the administration fulfilled its campaign pledge by joining other members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany in Geneva to jawbone with Iran on the nuclear issue. As a result, Iran accepted that a United Nations inspection team would visit the newly announced enrichment facility near Qom, and on Monday inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency arrived at the Fardo plant. The acceptance of inspectors is an excellent sign. As long as Tehran remains willing to allow U.N. inspections, both at Natanz near Isfahan and at Fardo (which is not operational but could eventually house 3,000 centrifuges), neither facility can be used to produce fissionable material. Obama has changed the West's dynamics with Iran by direct negotiation, something that 63 percent of the American people support.

Pakistan: B Then there is Pakistan.....Obama's Pakistan approach, of building state capacity and improving the economy and basic services, while dealing with the Pakistani Taliban through large-scale military operations, may or may not succeed. But compared to his predecessor's policy of just handing over billions to corrupt military officers, some of whom have links to factions of militants, Obama's policies have been far more coherent. His use of unmanned predator drones to kill suspected al-Qaida operatives and the aid bill's demand for the supremacy of civilian rule over the military are both unpopular in some quarters, because of fears that the U.S. is turning the country into a sort of colony and infringing against its sovereignty. Obama may need to be less heavy-handed in the future to avoid a popular backlash. If not for this insensitivity to Pakistani popular opinion, he might deserve an A. The Swat and South Waziristan campaigns, at least, appear to have the support of the Pakistani public.

The administration has not succeeded everywhere. The president has yet to make a determination on his Afghanistan policy, and so far little progress has been made on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A verdict is still outstanding about his performance in those two regions, leading to two grades of "incomplete." But Obama's withdrawal from Iraq is actually ahead of schedule, his direct engagement with Iran is producing some tentative results, and he has strong-armed the Pakistani state into owning the problem of the Pakistani Taliban, while instituting a major civilian aid program. Far from accomplishing nothing in his first eight months, Obama has been a whirlwind of activity and has already gained a place in the Iraqi, Iranian and Pakistani history books. He receives his lowest grade for his failure to force America's chattering classes to take notice. While it is a bit of a relief not to be subjected to the constant propaganda of the Bush administration about its creation of shining cities on a hill abroad, the Obama administration has gone too far in the opposite direction, hiding its light beneath a bushel.

link to full article:

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2009/10/26/obama_report_card/

[FrenchieCat]

1. Obama is getting things done.......

and by the time three more years roll by, we won't recognize what Bush left us with.

[sandnsea]

2. Then there's Europe, Russia, nuclear disarmamaent,

climate change and a new alternative energy agreement with Canada and Mexico. Oh, and a new Sudan policy and serious action on N Korea, though it hasn't produced results.

He is doing an enormous amount.

[BlueMTexpat]

3. Exactly. He gets generally high marks but Cole's expertise is

in ME affairs so he emphasizes those ... and the two (or perhaps even three, if one includes Pakistan) wars are also swallowing a huge amount of USD, which is something that we simply will not be able to afford much longer.
There's also some positive, though slow, movement on Guantanamo, in itself a foreign policy nightmare.
The past horrors, most inherited directly from *Co policies, are extremely difficult, nearly impossible, to work through, especially while Obama's trying to implement some meaningful improvements on the domestic front and coping with the economic havoc inherited primarily from *Co (certainly exacerbated by it), all the while being opposed and confronted by the Party of "No" and Blue Dogs in his own party every step of the way. The fact that he has accomplished so much in these circumstance in nine+ months is amazing.
And yes, there is still a lot to do.
But the MSM are also working very hard to keep all those lights under that very heavy bushel. Deliberately pushing the RW viewpoint, agenda and false talking points are the areas where the MSM, not just Faux, are succeeding.

[FrenchieCat]

4. This is my assessment as well.....

and you stated it very well!

[wroberts189]

5. knr