Even though it might win Obama many votes in the upcoming elections, there’s no doubt that he has been a good foreign policy President.
If there’s anything that stands out about his policy, it is the fact that not only is it flexible and incremental in nature but it has been adaptable to changing circumstances as well.
Considering the fact that everyone has their own issues to deal with, namely the Arab Spring in the Middle East, Europe fighting to stay afloat with the economic crisis and China as well as the United States with its own debt and economic stagnation, this isn’t a time for a global doctrine or for bold visionaries but for realism.
Where Obama has really scored point in foreign policy is his ability to learn along the way in dealing with both Iran and North Korea a bit more aggressively while also scaling back the nation-building effort in Afghanistan when that did not work.
In the case of the possibility of Iran’s nuclear facilities being attacked by Israel and the United States, Obama has had to deal with uncertainty – and has dealt with it well. In not being in a hurry to make a decision, Obama has held out for positive developments even if there haven’t been any so far.
Finally, Obama has been skillful, to say the least, with both unilateral and multilateral action be it the Iranian sanctions, the role played by the United States to liberate Libya from Gadhafi or quite differently, the efforts in singlehandedly destroying Al Qaeda and its leader, Osama Bin Laden.