The United States Government’s foreign policy has been a weak point for the country in the past decade under both President Bush and Obama; however, today, more than before, the United States has dropped the ball on foreign policy. The only success one can contribute to President Obama’s Administration was the killing of Osama Bin Laden. However, many have seen this former powerhouse country lack in every significant aspect of foreign policy. From Iran, to Israel, to ISIS and Ebola, this Administration failed to get its act together. Not to mention the previous monumental failures in Russia and Syria relations.

Iran:

Iran, the lesser of President Obama’s foreign policy evils, has continued to be a whole lot of nothing. When Hassan Rouhani was elected as Iranian President, the globe expected the United State’s relationship with Iran to blossom, and the Obama Administration was handed a gold platter with endless diplomatic opportunities on it. However, the ineptitude of the Administration and State Department prevailed once again. Instead of capitalizing on the opportunity to stabilize the Middle East and reduce nuclear weapons in the area, the President’s Administration still has not reached first base. Although the United States has been engaged in talks with the Iranians, every time a policy deadline has loomed, the opportunity for diplomacy has escaped. Time and time again, the United States has failed to come out on top diplomatically in foreign negotiations. Look at Russia and Syria. President Obama got played by Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad in negotiations. That failure has been a result of poor strategy and illogical ideological beliefs that simply do not apply to the real world. As President Obama said himself in regards to the Middle East, “We don’t have a strategy yet.”

Israel-Palestine Conflict:

From being a long time ally of the United States, Israel has now become just another country on the map in the eyes of the Obama Administration. Pleading for American support while launching a campaign to protect itself from the Hamas terror network, President Obama stood on the sideline neglecting his campaign promise of “America & Israel: An Unbreakable Bond.”

The bond between the United States and Israel, in the eyes of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has been broken. The notion that the United States government would feed into the Hamas propaganda and openly criticize Israel when most evidence pointed to Palestinian aggression has been concerning. Furthermore, Israel, one of the strongest democratic nations in the region deserves our support and guidance on appropriate ethics for all it has done to assist the United State in its War on Terror. But instead, Israel got criticism and backlash from the United States.

During this time, America proved to be weak and dazed on the foreign stage. Also, U.S. citizens were supporting Hamas, forgetting that the terror organization has been full of hatred and spite for western culture and democracy. The same people who have been fighting against Israel, have been the people fighting against the United States.

The Administration has attempted to take an intellectual approach, but that in turn has caused even more instability and war in the region. This Administration has not understood the reality of circumstances in the world. In fact, the President and his staff have been criticized for not seeing situations as they are in reality because of their philosophical arrogance. Their take has obviously been wrong since the beginning, or the United States’ foreign policy would not be in the dog house.

ISIS:

As the President’s plan of separation and disengagement in the world continued, the once avoidable forces have now been reclaiming the Middle East at unprecedented rates; the main force has been ISIS/ISIL and its associates. Over a year ago, the United States was warned about ISIS’ imminent threat to the Middle East through Iraqi diplomatic cables and pleas for assistance; however. President Obama decided that this brutal and fully funded terror group was only the “JV” terrorist team and not a concern of the United States.

Now flash forward a year; ISIS has taken over and slaughtered much of the Middle East, and the United States has been flat footed in its catchup response. Over 15 Middle Eastern cities, military bases and oil wells have been occupied by ISIS. Because of this, thousands of people have been beheaded and slaughtered, and those who live in the Middle East have lost any hope for stability and safety.

But why did the Administration not stop this enormous terror network before it grew into the “All-Pro team?” Perhaps the United States action would have reiterated to the citizens of the United States that the President’s troop pullout plan in Iraq has been a bust and that he ignored key military advisers in order to serve a political purpose.

Perhaps the President has been too busy attending fundraisers and golf outings with donors than worrying about the security of the United States. Or perhaps, the President and his team of inept advisors just do not have any foreign policy experience to keep up with the complex , the scenario John McCain predicted in 2008.

Ebola:

Although the subject of Ebola contains both elements of foreign and domestic policy, the Administration’s response to this crisis has been the same as every other crisis that has threatened the United States’ security. The predicted lackadaisical response could lead to trouble in the United States. Ebola was first reported a significant health threat by the ineffective Center for Disease Control (CDC) in late March. From March until recently, the Obama Administration ignored risks by openly letting passengers from West Africa pour into the United States without some sort of screening process.

After immense pressure from government officials and concerned citizens, alike, President Obama met halfway by directing passengers from West Africa to be screened at only five airport locations. Though many Americans do give the President praise for doing something, the response still has not been enough. Healthcare workers around the country have reported that they still do not know how to handle the disease as the country saw in Texas, and the CDC has continued to be delayed in its response to the Ebola outbreak.

Finally, when the White House took some initiative and appointed Ron Klain as Ebola Czar, it still did not appoint the right type of leader. Instead of searching for a capable leader in medical crisis management and organization, they chose an Obama crony lawyer with zero medical experience to head the handling of the crisis. Once again, people of the United States has been dumbfounded by the illogical actions of the Obama Administration.

Reasons for Poor Foreign Policy:

In the case of President Barack Obama, the reason foreign policy has failed has been his cluelessness for the real world. He has attempted to be an intellectual who has chosen philosophy over reality. For example, the pullout of Iraq was knowingly premature, but it was his philosophy of doing so that drove his decision to clear the Middle East. By focusing on this isolationist philosophy, the White House forgot about all the pieces in the Middle East that have been dependent on the United States’ presence. Once the U.S. removed itself, these pieces crumbled and ISIS/ISIL was able to take full advantage of the situation.

Finally, the most seemingly obvious reason the United States’ foreign policy has failed has been because the President has been too busy playing politics. Instead of getting to business and fixing this country and its foreign relations, the President has been cautious about damaging himself politically or going back on his many broken promises. The world is in need of a true leader; however, it has not seen one is a long while.

The reason the U.S. has been so apprehensive to act in the majority of situations has been because the White House’s political machine has taken too long to assess the political blowback of situations. By focusing on politics and who to blame when it has gone wrong, the Administration has ignored the totality of circumstances and has been continuously caught flat footed.

In order to improve upon the United States’ status in the world, it must be proactive in dealing with situations and do what is right, not what is politically popular in the United States. An exceptional leader will make waves, not hide among the followers. If the leaders of the free world cannot figure that out, maybe it is time to look at whom this democracy puts in office.