What Obama can't say openly

By Sumantra Maitra
0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, October 25, 2015
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In light of Russia's heavy handed hammering in Syria, two important articles came up recently, both involving U.S. President Barack Obama. The first one published in Politico is explosive, stating that there are visible rifts now within the Obama administration with regards to American policy about Russia. The second article in Foreign Policy was a more simplistic assessment of Obama being unable to reign in Putin, and completely wrong about understanding Russian resolve.

I have written previously about false claims of Obama being a political realist. As a matter of fact, it was the halfhearted response of the U.S. administration under Obama that turned so many simple solutions into recurring problems. I must admit, that in this situation, both these articles are a bit farfetched in their assessment of American strength and capability to shape issues beyond their control. Also, it doesn't reveal what Obama actually wants to do, and what he cannot say to the media and American public.

Obama wanted to give American foreign policy a new direction. His focus was inward looking and professorial, he wanted to change gun laws in the United States, start universal healthcare and form a legacy which would be defined by his domestic policy. Never a careful or interested student of foreign policy, Obama never even tried to be a global leader other than in climate change, according to his own words. On the other hand, he tried to open up to Cuba and Iran and reset with Russia. Superficially, some of his policies look Realist and even Nixonian. He wanted to get the United States out of costly wars in the Middle East as Nixon wanted to get America out of Vietnam. Obama wanted to focus on internal policy and Nixon wanted to tackle rising crime and drug addiction during the turbulent early seventies. Obama tried to change relations with traditional American rivals while Nixon is best remembered for his détente with China.

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