Does Obama Have Any Iran Policy?
During the Democratic primaries, Hillary Clinton made a shrewd observation about Obama. She said that each time a major crisis took place, Obama … made a speech.
Problem is, he seems to be continuing with that method now - making speeches as a substitute for policy.
It works like this: The president makes a speech, orders a review and appoints a special emissary. Sympathetic newspapers praise the president’s prudence and wisdom compared to President George W. Bush’s gung-ho, trigger-happy foreign policy. The special emissaries are shown on TV going to faraway places and taking pictures with exotic foreign leaders. Think-tank experts then go on TV to remind us that Obama is dealing with problems that are “complex and multidimensioned.”
The hoped-for impression is that the problem has been taken care of, allowing the president to move on to tackle some other aspect of his Herculean task.
Remember you first read it here: Obama has no policy on Iran or any of the other major issues of foreign policy, including the Arab-Israeli conflict, Iraq, Afghanistan, Russia and China. He hopes to avoid endorsing the policies of his predecessor but is at a loss as to what could be done differently. The result is political paralysis.