Grading the Obama administration: Foreign Policy​

When President Obama leaves office in 2017, how will he be remembered?

After leading the country for almost eight years, Obama has many accomplishments. A couple of well-known accomplishments of the Obama administration include passing national health care reform and saving the American auto industry from bankruptcy. Lesser known, but still important accomplishments include giving the FDA the power to regulate tobacco and helping South Sudan declare its independence.

Here are five foreign policy actions of the Obama Administration that you need to know.

March 2011: Intervention in Libya

After Muammar Gadhafi, the self-appointed leader of Libya who ruled for over 40 years, ordered the mass shooting of his own people, President Obama enacted the “Responsibility to Protect” doctrine. This allowed the U.S. to cut off Gadhafi’s supplies, assist the opposition and work with other nations to remove Gadhafi from power, according to The United Nations. Obama was praised for his swift actions, which not only prevented further murder of the Libyan people but also freed them from an oppressive dictator, according to The Washington Post. In actuality, the Obama administration aided in the overthrow of Gadhafi, a deplorable person and leader, and then abandoned Libya to the militants. Obama was also criticized for not taking action against Bashar al-Assad when he committed similar crimes against Syrians. Al-Assad is still in control of Syria.

May 2011: Killing of Osama bin Laden

On May 1, 2011, a team of Navy SEALs entered bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan. The team killed bin Laden and four others. During a speech the next day, Obama called this “the most significant achievement to date in our nation’s effort to defeat al Qaeda.”

Osama bin Laden was responsible for many deadly acts of terrorism, including the 1998 bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and the 9/11 attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. He had been on the FBI’s “most wanted” list for more than a decade.

When Obama took office in 2008, he directed Leon Panetta, the director of the CIA, to make the killing or capturing of bin Laden a top priority, but Obama should not receive all of the credit. “The capabilities that were used to kill Osama bin Laden, both intelligence and special operations forces, were investments that were made during the Bush administration, and each president has available to them only what is left by their predecessor,” Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said.

On top of that, bin Laden was just the figurehead of al-Qaeda. Although he was the founder, he is easily replaceable.

April 2015: Opening of relations with Cuba

​​On Dec. 17, 2014, President Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro announced the beginning of a process of normalizing relations between Cuba and the U.S., which became known as “the Cuban Thaw,” according to the Council on Foreign Relations, a non-profit think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs.

After secret negotiations in Canada and the Vatican City, and with the assistance of Pope Francis, the agreement gave U.S. banks access to the Cuban financial system, allowed for the removal of some U.S. travel restrictions and led to the establishment of a U.S. embassy in Havana, which closed after Cuba became closely allied with the USSR in 1961, according to the Council.

The U.S., however, maintains its economic, commercial and financial embargo, which makes it illegal for U.S. corporations to do business with Cuba. Even though Obama has called for the ending of the embargo, U.S. law requires congressional approval. Although this is a great accomplishment, it’s just a step in the right direction. Until Obama can motivate Congress to remove the sanctions, there is little change.

September 2015: Iran nuclear deal

The deal will be in effect for 10 to 15 years and will require Iran to reduce its stockpile of uranium, a key ingredient used to produce nuclear weapons, and the number of centrifuges it has to produce the uranium, according to The White House.

This is important because Iran is a politically unstable country that actively supports terrorist groups, such as Hizballah and the Quds Force, and opposes the U.S. But this is just a temporary solution. The deal would just delay Iran’s ability to produce a bomb, not prevent it.

TBD: Closing of Guantánamo bay

First, why should GTMO be closed? When it was created in 2002, the prison camp was established to temporarily detain extraordinarily dangerous people, to interrogate detainees in an optimal setting and to prosecute detainees for war crimes, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said in a press briefing in 2002.

It was only intended to be in use for 60 days. It’s been in use for more than 13 years. There is also a moral argument for the closing of GTMO. After an inspection, the International Committee of the Red Cross concluded that Guantanamo “cannot be considered other than an intentional system of cruel, unusual and degrading treatment and a form of torture.” Reported practices included humiliating acts, solitary confinement, temperature extremes, and forced positions. Although the U.S. government has denied allegations of torture, released prisoners have corroborated the ICRC report, claiming that beatings, sleep deprivation, prolonged hoodings, along with other torturous practices occurred.

What started as a temporary fix has become a symbol of torture, injustice and illegitimacy.

The Obama administration, namely President Obama, has made serious efforts to shut down the terrorist prison at Guantanamo Bay. When he took office in 2009, there were 242 detainees, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, a non-profit, non-partisan organization that works to defend individual rights. At the beginning of 2014, there were 155. This year, 28 detainees were transferred, leaving a total of 127. Of those remaining, 59 have been cleared for transfer. The reason prisoners have not been transferred or released sooner is because Congress is dragging its feet.

If GTMO is closed, the U.S.’s reputation and relations with Latin America and Europe will improve substantially.

Of course, it is still too early to understand the impact these decisions will have on the U.S. and the world, but we can certainly begin to assess and understand the major actions of the Obama administration.

- See more at: http://c2postscript.org/grading-the-obama-administration-foreign-policy/#sthash.4a2u3yCx.dpuf