Why Obama’s security record is difficult to defend
I certainly understand why Michele Flournoy feels compelled to defend the Obama administration’s national security record. Someone has to. And that record is so difficult to defend. The situation in Iraq seems to go from bad to worse. The country is once again in the throes of sectarian violence. Baghdad’s clandestine, and sometimes not-so-clandestine, support ...
I certainly understand why Michele Flournoy feels compelled to defend the Obama administration's national security record. Someone has to. And that record is so difficult to defend.
I certainly understand why Michele Flournoy feels compelled to defend the Obama administration’s national security record. Someone has to. And that record is so difficult to defend.
The situation in Iraq seems to go from bad to worse. The country is once again in the throes of sectarian violence. Baghdad’s clandestine, and sometimes not-so-clandestine, support of Syria is a disgrace. Iran’s influence in Iraq continues to grow even as America continues to provide assistance to the country that we rescued from Saddam less than a decade ago. And Nuri al-Maliki behaves increasingly like the dictator the United States overthrew.
As for Afghanistan, Mr. Obama’s withdrawal plan has succeeded in galvanizing the Taliban, confusing the Karzai government and convincing the Pakistanis that America is a spent force. Accelerating the withdrawal of the "surge" forces ha only worsened an already precarious situation.
The Obama administration has frustrated allies around the globe: Israel, Saudi Arabia, Colombia, Britain (despite the warm words to Mr. Cameron) to name but four. But its "outreach" to those who would seek to undermine American interests — Iran, Venezuela, North Korea — has yielded nothing. Moreover, the administration’s support for the Arab Spring has won it no new friends, lost a key ally in Hosni Mubarak, and produced an uncertain outcome by leading from behind in Libya. In addition, even as it has berated Bahrain for its supposedly insufficient responsiveness to an intransigent opposition backed by Iran, it has done precious little to thwart the far greater brutality of Syria’s Assad.
Finally, the "pivot" toward Asia, which has European and Middle Eastern allies deeply concerned, is in fact no pivot at all. It consists of a minor increase in American forces in Asia, but a meaningful decrease of forces in Europe and an uncertain posture in the Middle East. Indeed, the administration’s defense cuts, which it portrays as a solution to the country’s fiscal crisis while entitlements remain untouched, has reinforced a growing impression worldwide that America is a declining power.
The president surely deserves credit for authorizing the killing of Bin Laden. But one good move in nearly four years of setbacks is hardly a record to be proud of.
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