Testing Obama’s Foreign Policy
Approaching the end of his first year as president, Barack Obama has taken a bold step in deciding to increase the number of American troops in Afghanistan to over 100,000. He must know that Afghanistan will be the major test according to which future historians will grade his foreign policy.
Subscribe to PS Digital
Access every new PS commentary, our entire On Point suite of subscriber-exclusive content – including Longer Reads, Insider Interviews, Big Picture/Big Question, and Say More – and the full PS archive.
CAMBRIDGE – Approaching the end of his first year as president, Barack Obama has taken a bold step in deciding to increase the number of American troops in Afghanistan to over 100,000. Critics on the left point out that the Korean War crippled Harry Truman’s presidency, just as the Vietnam War defined Lyndon Johnson’s administration. Obama thus risks becoming the third Democratic president whose domestic agenda will be overshadowed by a difficult war.
But critics on the right have complained that Obama’s approach to foreign policy has been weak, too apologetic, and overly reliant on soft power. They worry about Obama’s promise to begin withdrawing American troops from Afghanistan 18 months after the surge.
Obama inherited a fraught foreign policy agenda: a global economic crisis, two
To continue reading, register now.
Subscribe now for unlimited access to everything PS has to offer.
Subscribe
As a registered user, you can enjoy more PS content every month – for free.
Register
Already have an account? Log in