This is part seven of a nine-part series by the entire Pocket Full of Liberty staff focused on President Obama’s specific failures during his time in office.
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One area where Barack Obama’s failed presidency will have long term impact is on foreign policy. The world and the American people had high hopes for Obama after the unpopular policies of George W. Bush. In June 2009, Obama gave a well-regarded speech at Cairo University that was supposed to begin the process of improving American-Islamic relations. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 as a sign of confidence. Yet five years later, his administration has offered little but empty rhetoric, cowboy diplomacy, and broken promises. America’s global image has not improved under Obama and his policies are proving unpopular in the Muslim world. While it is a very large world and Barack Obama is a massive failure, I have focused on only three particular issues: terrorism, war in Libya, and Afghanistan.
- Obama’s Incoherent Stance On Terrorism
In May, Obama gave a speech where he claimed that Al-Qaeda was close to defeat.
President Obama said Thursday that al Qaeda is nearly defeated and the war on terrorism has changed since he took office, and that demands a broad rethink that includes scaling down drone attacks, transferring detainees from Guantanamo Bay and revisiting the 2001 congressional resolution that set the country on perpetual war footing.
More empty rhetoric. As commander in chief, Obama can end drone strikes whenever he wants to. The fact of the matter is that when the Democrats controlled Congress in 2009 and 2010, Barack Obama not only did not close the Guantanamo Bay prison camp, but his administration hurt efforts to close it.