No Grade Yet for Obama’s Foreign Policy

No more passing the buck to the United States: in his address to the U.N. General Assembly, President Obama said he expects the world community to live up to its promises. Still, on the subject of Afghanistan, he was noticeably cautious.

It was apparent that the United Nations gave an enthusiastic welcome to Barack Obama. At long last, an American president who doesn’t constantly badger and lecture them has made an appearance. Plus, he is a U.S. president whose foreign policy philosophies coincide almost exactly with those of the U.N. itself: he supports nuclear arms reduction and environmental protection, he supports multilateral cooperation and human rights, he advocates more aid to the world’s poor and has proposed the deployment of more U.N. peacekeeping forces.

All these proposals were salve for the world’s wounds and need to be emphasized once again. But the world already knew this Obama because he was remaining true to form. The real surprise in his address lay in how he chose and formulated his words, and in what he chose not to say.

Unexpectedly, his opening contained no great mea culpa, nor did he attempt to apologize for the devastation of the Bush years. Instead, he repudiated the tendency to make blanket judgments, casual condemnations and stereotyped criticisms of the United States.

The president promised the world a new, peace-oriented America. At the same time, though, he called upon the nearly 190 other world nations to look in the mirror and ask themselves what they are doing to create a better world. The president was right on target when he observed that many countries found it easier to criticize the United States while they comfortably kept themselves out of everything.

It was also surprising that Obama publicly and specifically chided the Israelis and Palestinians. His appeals concerning the villains in North Korea and Iran almost seemed incidental.

The president didn’t waste many words on the subject of the war in Afghanistan, a war that has directly impacted many people sitting in the assembly and one he described as “necessary.” The world would have loved hearing how Obama planned to get out of that mess. For example, the situation in the Hindu Kush is deadly, the strategy until now has been a failure, the new NATO commander is asking for more troops, the allies are on the verge of pulling out completely and even a majority of Americans are beginning to openly express doubts about the wisdom of this military adventure.

Obama is currently mulling over a change in strategy in Afghanistan, so one may easily understand why he would hesitate to reveal his inner thoughts on the subject. However, the flip side of being totally candid is not allowing complete and unbroken silence.

Scarcely were Obama’s closing words spoken before his critics at home and abroad began their usual chant of “words, nothing but pretty words,” as if they expected Obama to be prepared to show immediate results. Only tough bargaining behind closed doors will produce results.

Russia suddenly lessened its objection to stricter sanctions against Iran. China and Russia supported Obama’s desire for stronger regulations for nuclear non-proliferation.

The coming weeks will reveal whether Obama was successful with his foreign policy breakthrough; for example, in Geneva on October 1, when negotiations concerning Iran will begin. The report card for the president’s diplomacy is still in the making.