On Our Watch
What one student believes President Obama must do to restore America’s place in the world.By Sahil Kapur
November 20, 2008
Barack Obama takes a question during a news conference held after a foreign policy meeting in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)On Jan. 20, 2009, Barack Obama will be sworn in as president of the United States. Few global leaders have shared Obama’s ability to inspire, his world-class intellect, and his grasp of liberal internationalism. For these reasons, Obama is in a better position to be an exceptional world leader than any other American president in modern history, especially after eight years of disastrous foreign policy. Many have hopes that Obama can help rebuild America’s image abroad. Here are four things Obama needs to do during the course of his presidency to give credit back to Americans as world leaders.
1) Get U.S. troops out of Iraq by working more closely with the Iraqi government to find a way to end the occupation. Immediate withdrawal may not be feasible as it would undermine short-term security in Iraq. The Iraqi government is already debating a timetable that would call for troops to begin pulling out of Iraq on June 1. A long-term United States military presence in the Middle East is exacerbating the larger battle against terrorism by offering extremist groups more ammunition for recruitment.
The underpinning of the war on terror is an ideological battle, and that will never be won with air strikes and firepower. The Iraq war has done tremendous damage to America’s credibility abroad as most of the world now doubts the intentions and pretext under which military action was taken. Bush, because of his history with this war, gives an opening for Obama to exercise better judgment.
2) More soft power, less recklessness. The reason for America’s greatness isn’t its awesome military; it’s America’s values, culture, and institutions that are the envy of the world. The United States turned freedom, social justice, and tolerance into universal truths; that’s the country that so many revere. Endeavors such as the PATRIOT Act, Guantanamo Bay, and warrantless wiretapping have undermined some of America’s most fundamental values, including liberty and human rights. If America tortures people, taps its own citizens’ phones, and erodes domestic civil liberties, then it begins to destroy its own credibility in the world. It’s easy to rationalize the need for these programs but it takes courage to judge yourself equally, or with more rigor, than you judge others. Building a better world starts at home.
3) Multilateralism. Never again should the United States make unilateral decisions, especially involving military action, that are opposed by international law. The United Nations can’t be important when it agrees with the United States and irrelevant when it disagrees. The foreign policies of George W. Bush were based on unilateralism. Bush was dead certain about his policies and didn’t feel the need to win the trust of others. Bill Clinton’s foreign policy was about multilateralism. Clinton sought U.N. approval for his military actions in Kosovo and worked with U.S. allies. As a result, it helped maintain America’s moral platform and strengthened our alliances. Nobody wants to make an enemy of the United States, but Bush made negotiations with U.S. allies difficult. Obama needs to keep an open dialogue and be willing to listen.
4) Diplomacy. Nobody wants Iran to have a nuclear weapon, but threats and intimidation put us on a path to World War III. It helps to remember that the rogue governments in Iran and North Korea know how drastic the consequences would be if they so much as spit in the direction of the United States or Israel. It also helps to understand the reasons for their military ambitions: They’re scared, they’re thinking defensively, and they’re behaving rationally. They see the United States as a threat (rightfully so) and want to be able to defend themselves.
Obama ought to keep in mind that the objective in any conflict is not to fight and destroy your opponent; it’s to make it no longer in their interest to want to harm you. And to my right-wing comrades: No, it isn’t appeasement to talk to your weaker adversaries. It shows open-mindedness, establishes moral high-ground, and allows you to understand each other’s intentions. There’s an enormous difference between talking to your enemies and giving something away to them. Don’t forget how many military conflicts throughout history have occurred because of a lack of communication, which breeds fear and misperceived hostility between nations.
We shouldn’t expect Obama to be a perfect president. But the world needs a president who can inspire a disillusioned generation to regain its respect and admiration for the United States. The
Sahil Kapur is a senior at Claremont McKenna College majoring in political science and economics. He writes regularly for the Daily Kos and has a personal blog.
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Comments
Aren’t you forgetting something? There is a global environmental crisis that threatens to create hundreds of millions of climate refugees, to wipe out water availability in already water-strapped regions, to destroy coastal communities, bankrupt small-scale (and corporate, but who cares about them) fishermen, and you don’t even mention becoming a leader in fighting global warming as an international priority?
One thing Obama should be doing is making the U.S. an example of an efficient, clean, just and renewable economy and become a vocal proponent of the post-kyoto international climate treaty. I guess this could be part of your Multilateralism point, but it is a shame that you didn’t even mention it.
— Tommaso - Nov 26, 10:46 AM - #Aren’t you forgetting something? There is a global environmental crisis that threatens to create hundreds of millions of climate refugees, to wipe out water availability in already water-strapped regions, to destroy coastal communities, bankrupt small-scale (and corporate, but who cares about them) fishermen, and you don’t even mention becoming a leader in fighting global warming as an international priority?
One thing Obama should be doing is making the U.S. an example of an efficient, clean, just and renewable economy and become a vocal proponent of the post-kyoto international climate treaty. I guess this could be part of your Multilateralism point, but it is a shame that you didn’t even mention it.
— Tommaso - Nov 26, 10:47 AM - #