After the War on Terror

The basic outlines of Barack Obama’s approach to foreign policy became clear in 2009, and they contrast starkly with those of the Bush administration. Nevertheless, 2009 was a year of frustration as much as accomplishment for US foreign policy, and that balance is unlikely to change in 2010.

NEW YORK – The basic outlines of Barack Obama’s approach to foreign policy became clear in 2009. His administration believes that the United States should talk with other governments even if it disagrees profoundly with their character. He prefers acting with other countries to going it alone. And he has shifted the focus of US foreign policy from what countries do within their borders to how they act beyond them.

All of this differentiates Obama from his immediate predecessor, George W. Bush, whose administration branded selected countries as evil and mostly refused to deal with them; often rejected cooperation with other governments, lest the US find itself constrained; and sought to transform other countries, rather than to influence their actions. Any parallels between Obama’s foreign policy and that of Bush are more with the father, America’s 41st president, George H.W. Bush.

Diplomacy, of course, should not be viewed as a favor or concession that signals “softness.” Obama rightly recognizes that it is an important tool of foreign policy, to be employed when it promises results that are more favorable than the alternatives.

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