All Articles Tagged "Iraq War"
Top 8 Foreign Policy Achievements of the Obama Administration
by Anthony Jerrod
The late President John F. Kennedy once stated that “domestic policy can only defeat us; foreign policy can kill us.” Indeed, the ability of a country to promote peace, prosperity and democracy among its global neighbors is essential as this world becomes smaller and more interconnected on a daily basis. The United States has arguably been the bastion of leadership that other nations have looked to as a beacon of light with its promises of basic rights and freedom.
Similar to other political topics, there is certainly a dichotomy of beliefs on how foreign policy should be implemented. For some individuals, international relations should be centered on multilateral engagement with allies, diplomatic discussions with rogue nations and prudent restraint of military power until it is time to act. Conversely, there are a plethora of individuals who believe that our country should practice unilateralism, refrain from talks with enemy countries and exercise preemptive military strikes in accordance with the Bush doctrine.
Critics of President Obama have expressed strong dissatisfaction relative to Guantanamo Bay and purported lack of leadership during recent protests in Iran, Syria, Egypt and Libya. Certainly, mistakes have been made and there is room for continual improvement, especially when considering the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict and concrete threats of nuclear-armed, miscreant states. But, from a nonpartisan and unbiased perspective, President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and administration envoys have achieved the following foreign policy accomplishments that were unparalleled and/or very significant in nature:
1. The death of Osama bin Laden. Defense Secretary Robert Gates stated that President Obama’s authorization to raid bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan was “one of the most courageous” decisions he had ever seen a president make. The founder of al-Qaeda and reported mastermind behind the September 11 and other mass-casualty attacks was definitely one of the world’s most feared men. The valiant actions of central intelligence and the elite Navy SEAL fighters who captured and killed bin Laden brought a certain degree of relief to the families of 9/11 victims and jubilation worldwide.
2. The death of al-Qaeda’s No. 2 leader. U.S. and Pakistani officials recently confirmed that Atiyah abd al-Rahman was killed during a missile strike in the tribal region of Wazinstan, Pakistan. al-Rahman’s death further weakens the terrorist group and brings “the strategic dismantling of al-Qaeda a step closer,” as expressed by CIA director David Petraeus.
Colin Powell Blasts “Cheap Shots” in package Cheney’s New Memoir
package Cheney is setting political tongues wagging in eager anticipation of his memoir “In My Time,” an autobiography full of raw critiques of Washington insiders due out on Aug. 30. The former vice president under George W. Bush is already promoting his tome using sensationalist language, saying “There are gonna be heads exploding all over Washington” in response to some of his revelations. Former secretary of state Colin Powell has responded by blasting Cheney for taking “cheap shots” at him in the book, and conducting himself in a way that is not befitting a former vice president. Think Progress reports:
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell slammed former Vice President package Cheney today on CBS’s Face the Nation, accusing Cheney of taking “cheap shots” at Bush administration officials in his new memoir and promoting it by using language inappropriate for a former vice president. While they worked for the same president, Cheney allegedly criticizes Powell in his much-anticipated autobiography, In My Time, which he predicted will have “heads exploding all over Washington.” That’s “the kind of headline you might see [on] one of the supermarket tabloids,” Powell said of Cheney’s exploding heads comment, “It’s not the kind of headline I would have expected to come from a former Vice President of the United States of America” [...]
In a withering criticism of the former vice president, Powell goes on at length and in detail to explain how the “cheap shots” Cheney aims at Powell and “other administration officials” are false, and how Cheney is himself to blame for much of it. “I’m the one who said to President Bush, [about Iraq] that if you break it, you own it,” Powell said, but “Mr. Cheney and many of his colleagues did not prepare for what happened after the fall of Baghdad.”
Cheney also attacks Condoleezza Rice in this book, and even former President Bush himself among other high-ranking officials. And that is apparently only the beginning of the trash talking. According to The Week, Cheney admits that he tried to get Powell fired in 2004 after publicly making statements against the war in Iraq.
Obama’s Achilles Heel: He’s Not African-American
Another Obama address, another failed attempt at messaging by the White House communications team. Instead of using his address from the Oval Office to remind us that he displayed true leadership by going against the tide and opposing the Iraq war when everyone else was for it, Obama proudly asserted that he’d made a call to George W. Bush to inform him that the war was over. Obama had the opportunity to be nostalgic, and remind his base that the candidate of 2008 is still alive in the President of 2010, but he didn’t. To the contrary, Obama listened to Republicans who’d been chiding him all week to give at least a modicum of credit to the one man who deserves all the blame – George W. Bush. And since Obama was ill-prepared for a skirmish with the Right, he gave in once more.
The issue is not just that President Obama is unprepared for the present fight that he’s engaged in, but that he’s unprepared for all fights – period. Obama doesn’t use the bully pulpit because he’s not a bully. This is a hard pill for most African Americans to swallow.
White liberals want Obama to fight because it’s the right thing to do. While African-American liberals agree with that premise, we are also goading President Obama to do battle with Republicans because we’ve collectively adopted clashing with despotic regimes as our solemn oath. The spirit of David and Goliath is alive in the African-American experience.
When Obama declared himself African-American, and not mixed race or biracial as some had hoped, the African American community celebrated with jubilee. To us, Obama’s bold assertion meant that he identified with the African-American experience. It was proof that he’d accepted the chivalrous invitation of the African-American community and would soon glide into our open arms to meet our soft far embrace. So far, much to our dismay, he’s proven to be a bit of a playboy.
In classic Obama style, he’s adorned the costume which we’ve come to associate with all rebellious agitators. Unlike some who’ve compared his speaking style to MLK, I see more of Malcolm than Martin in Obama’s mettle performance. Short, decisive, snappy comments, which linger with the listener by virtue of their verbosity and in your face intellectualism. This was Malcolm’s marker. In 21st century America, Obama is Malcolm’s emulator, but not his heir apparent.
While African-Americans were busily working for change during Obama’s 2008 campaign, we absentmindedly forget that history often foretells future events.
Born to a white mother and a Kenyan father, young Obama’s world view was fashioned in Indonesia and Hawaii through the prism of his mother. There is nothing unseemly about Obama’s upbringing, but it does belie the difficulty inherent in labeling President Obama as African-American.
Even if President Obama’s Kenyan father had been in his life, that wouldn’t have been enough to link Obama to an African-American experience which is uniquely different from that of Africans in the great vastness of the Diaspora. And to say that Obama is connected to the African-American experience by virtue of his Kenyan father is alarmingly simplistic.
The African-American experience is unique in the level of insight which it imprinted upon its members as well as the relative level of equality bestowed upon a previously enslaved minority group. We view life through a dual lens whereas for Obama, the lens is singular.
Truth be told, our collective defiance has negatively impacted us in a variety of scenarios. The mythology of the African American attitude heralds a people unafraid to speak truth to power. Even in our day to day individual dealings, we are more apt than most groups to betray our own self interest by confronting our employer, government, or whomever else we feel may be engaged in double dealing. History has made us rebels.
Our expectation was that Obama would display some of the steeliness so overtly recognizable in the African American persona. But President Obama’s perspective is international, not African American. It is time that the African-American community stops looking for its reflection in President Obama. He may be the first black President, but he’s certainly not the first African-American President.
Yvette Carnell is a former Capitol Hill Staffer turned political blogger. She currently publishes two blogs, Spatterblog.com and GoGirlGuide.com.
Deficits of Mass Destruction
(The Nation) — If you’ve been paying attention this past decade, it won’t surprise you to learn that the country’s policy elites are in the midst of a destructive, well-nigh unhinged discussion about the future of the nation. But even by the degraded standards of the Washington establishment, the growing panic over government debt is shocking.
