Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
WORLD VIEW
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s foreign policy legacy may be defined as much by what he didn’t do as by what he did.
Over eight years, Obama ushered in a new era of diplomacy, re-establishing the United States as the driving force behind fighting climate change and reducing the threat of nuclear weapons. He restored unity between the U.S. and its allies after the divisive tenure of President George W. Bush and avoided adding another large-scale U.S. military commitment overseas.
But Obama also ran headlong into his limitations as the world’s chief diplomat. His cautious and pragmatic approach to world affairs ultimately couldn’t deliver on the founding promise of his presidency: ending wars.
He will leave office in January having failed to end the conflicts he inherited in Iraq and Afghanistan, settling instead for greatly reducing U.S. involvement in each. And he will pass on the woes of a raging civil war in Syria that he has been helpless to stop.
Historians will grapple with whether Obama’s forward-looking diplomatic achievements, like the Iran nuclear deal and rapprochement with Cuba, will outweigh his failings.
Their calculus will depend heavily on how far Donald Trump goes to unwind these efforts. If the president-elect makes good on promises to unravel Obama’s climate change, trade and nuclear agreements, he will leave Obama’s legacy defined not by his ambition but by his restraint, for better or worse.
David Milne, historian of U.S. foreign policy at Britain’s University of East Anglia, described Obama as a “retrenchment president” akin to Dwight Eisenhower. Obama is a president who will be “perhaps best remembered for the paths not taken,” he said.
In his first speech as president, Obama told America’s foes he would “extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.” He largely made good on that offer.
Obama’s outreach yielded historic diplomatic breakthroughs, but not without levels of compromise that brought howls of protest from his Republican critics. His dealings with Iran, Cuba and Myanmar fall into that category, as does his work on global climate change.
As Obama’s approach cleared new diplomatic paths, it sometimes led to dead ends. Such was the case in the Mideast, and in his relationships with Moscow and China. Syria marked a low point for Obama’s ability to effect change.
Obama’s critics have called him feckless and weak. They’ve lampooned his talk about hitting “singles and doubles” in foreign policy, rather than swinging for the fences.
The president and his aides called his approach: “Don’t do stupid stuff,” often using a more profane term.
Both analyses reflect Obama’s essential caution and pragmatism about one nation’s ability to shape global events, prevent violence and expand freedom and stability.