Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

While no one is looking, Obama is doing quite well in foreign policy

David Ignatius, for my money the best foreign policy columnist working today, makes a good argument that President Obama has been very successful in foreign policy. "There have been a lot of bumps and bruises, especially in the global economy. But if you step back from the daily squawk box, some trends are clear: Alliances ...

JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images
JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images
JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images

David Ignatius, for my money the best foreign policy columnist working today, makes a good argument that President Obama has been very successful in foreign policy. "There have been a lot of bumps and bruises, especially in the global economy. But if you step back from the daily squawk box, some trends are clear: Alliances are stronger, the United States is (somewhat) less bogged down in foreign wars, Iran is weaker, the Arab world is less hostile and al-Qaeda is on the run."

David Ignatius, for my money the best foreign policy columnist working today, makes a good argument that President Obama has been very successful in foreign policy. "There have been a lot of bumps and bruises, especially in the global economy. But if you step back from the daily squawk box, some trends are clear: Alliances are stronger, the United States is (somewhat) less bogged down in foreign wars, Iran is weaker, the Arab world is less hostile and al-Qaeda is on the run."

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1

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