SHORT COMMUNICATIONS 389
Major Foreign Policy Blunders
By
Roger Behra
It is not a surprise that as of April 21, 2014, so
many foreign policy blunders by America´s president have taken place, and Cold
War victories won 40 years ago between communism and democracy, the Soviet
Union and the United States have not been squandered because America´s
president has failed to lead and may well go down as one of the worst
foreign-policy presidents in America history.
Russia is on the move again, and it looks
like another Cold War is taking shape. Russia annexed Crimea and is causing
trouble in the Ukraine. That could have been averted if Mr. Obama had a foreign
policy in place to deal with Russia. Russia is emboldened now and merely shrugs
off the United States secretary of state. That is a sign that Obama has lost
geopolitical ground his White House predecessors worked so hard to wind. Mr.
Obama is not match when dealing with Mr. Putin.
In March, 2014 Mr. Obama met up with
South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to
discuss the security threat posed by North Korea. Mr. Obama assured them that
America has their backs if Pyongyang starts any trouble in East Asia.
No sooner did Mr. Obama bid the South
Korea and Japanese heads of state farewell than North Korea test-fired two Rodong
missiles, which are capable of reaching not only Seoul, but also Tokyo, and
which can be fitted with nuclear warheads. That was not enough of a provocation
by North Korea who followed it up with the flight of a surveillance drone that
flew over Geun-hye´s presidential place. I clearly was an act of provocative
intent. Yet, Mr. Obama had little to say about Pyongyang´s provocations.
Then there is the so-called Arab Spring
debacle. A great moment of opportunity was lost for U. S. diplomacy. It has
been a big failure for Obama´s foreign policy. Clearly, Mr. Obama got it wrong
on the Arab Spring, especially in Libya, where Libyan Ambassador J. Christopher
Stephens, Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods, and Glen Doherty were killed in a 2012
terror attack in Benghazi. Mr. Obama promised to bring to justice those
responsible for their deaths. As of April, 2014 the culprits remain at large.
It is matter of record that all the gains
made at the end of the first Cold War that ended a 40-year struggle, between
the Soviet Union and United States, have been squandered by America´s president.
And to make matters worse, Mr. Obama has no firm, fixed, and effective foreign
policy in place to combat a possible new Cold War that Russia can start at any
time. Obama thinks sanctions will do the trick but sanctions will not. Russia´s
Mr. Putin is an unpredictable president and makes up his own agenda as he goes
alone. That became evident with the
Ukraine situation which can easily begin a new Cold War. Putin shrugged off
America´s secretary of state in the Ukraine situation. It seems Mr. Putin would
enjoy a new Cold War. It is all Putin and Russia can offer along with their shaky
economy and weapons that end up in terrorist´s hands.
R. B.
5-1-14