Thread: Obama's Trip: Farewell To Failed Leadership

Obama's Trip: Farewell To Failed Leadership

April 19, 2016



The Obama Foreign Policy Began With An Overseas Apology Tour, And Concludes With An
Overseas Damage Control Tour

TOP TAKEAWAYS

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• President Obama will travel to the Middle East and Europe this week to meet with the leaders of three of America's most important allies: Saudi Arabia, Great Britain, and Germany.
• Headlines previewing Obama's trip point to his failure to forge strong international relationships and need to do "damage control."
• Despite many lofty promises of a renewed American commitment to international cooperation and partnership, Obama will be greeted by "distressed" allies, upset at Obama's "cold-eyed" and hypocritical view of international collaboration.
• For many of these leaders "the end of the Obama administration can't come quickly enough."

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This Week, Obama Begins His Overseas Farewell Tour, But "In A Reminder Of This President's Uneven Ties To Allies, Obama's First Stop Will Involve More Damage Control Than Nostalgia, More Friction Than Fondness." "President Barack Obama sets out this week on his first in a series of international farewell tours, a sometimes wistful tradition for presidents in legacy mode. But in a reminder of this president's uneven ties to allies, Obama's first stop will involve more damage control than nostalgia, more friction than fondness." (Kathleen Hennessey, "Obama's First Farewell Tour Starts With Damage Control," The Associated Press, 4/18/16)

Obama Will Be Met By Leaders "Roiled By His Recent Public Comments About Global 'Free Riders' And Harboring Deep Distrust Of His Dealings With Iran And His Posture In Syria." When Obama lands in Riyadh on Wednesday for a Persian Gulf summit, he'll be met by leaders roiled by his recent public complaints about global 'free riders' and harboring deep distrust of his dealings with Iran and his posture in Syria." (Kathleen Hennessey, "Obama's First Farewell Tour Starts With Damage Control," The Associated Press, 4/18/16)

• Former State Department Official Perry Cammack: "The End Of The Obama Administration Can't Come Quickly Enough For These Leaders." "'It's clear that the president's cerebral, dispassionate approach isn't well suited to the gulf leaders,' said Perry Cammack, a former State Department official in the Obama administration and associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 'The end of the Obama administration can't come quickly enough for these leaders.'" (Greg Jaffe and Griff Witte, "A Cold-Eyed View Of Allies Has Left Obama With Few Overseas Friends," The Washington Post , 4/18/16)

Ahead Of His Farewell Tour, The Headlines Highlight Obama's Failure To Build Strong International Partnerships

• The Associated Press Headline: "Obama's First Farewell Tour Starts With Damage Control." (The Associated Press, 4/18/16)
• Politico Headline: "Obama's Big Damage-Control Tour." (Politico, 4/18/16)
• Washington Post Headline: "A Cold-Eyed View Of Allies Has Left Obama With Few Overseas Friends." (The Washington Post , 4/18/16)
• The New York Times Headline: "Obama Heads To Europe, Its Stability And His Priorities In Question." (The New York Times , 4/17/16)
• Wall Street Journal Headline: "Obama Faces Uneasy Allies At Gulf Summit." (The Wall Street Journal, 4/18/16)
• CNN Headline: "Obama Looks For Allies' Support As Ties And Nerves Fray." (CNN, 4/19/16)
• The New York Times Headline: "An Old Alliance Faces New Pressures As Obama Heads To Saudi Arabia." (The New York Times , 4/17/16)

OBAMA CAME TO OFFICE MAKING GRAND SPEECHES PROMISING TO REBUILD ALLIANCES AND RENEW COOPERATION TO PURSUE SHARED "PROGRESS"

In 2008, Obama Spoke Of "True Partnership" That "Require[s] Allies Who Listen To Each Other, Learn From Each Other And Most Of All, Trust Each Other." OBAMA: "So history reminds us that walls can be torn down. But the task is never easy. True partnership and true progress requires constant work and sustained sacrifice. They require sharing the burdens of development and diplomacy; of progress and peace. They require allies who will listen to each other, learn from each other and, most of all, trust each other." (Senator Barack Obama, Remarks At Brandenburg Gate, Berlin, Germany, 7/24/08 <br>http://<a href="https://youtu.be/1CM...CMG3si1nYA</a>



Obama: "Partnership And Cooperation Among Nations Is Not A Choice, It Is The One Way, The Only Way, To Protect Our Common Security And Advance Our Common Humanity." OBAMA: "In this new century, Americans and Europeans alike will be required to do more - not less. Partnership and cooperation among nations is not a choice; it is the one way, the only way, to protect our common security and advance our common humanity." (Senator Barack Obama, Remarks At Brandenburg Gate, Berlin, Germany, 7/24/0



In 2009, Obama Traveled To Prague And Spoke Of Renewed Cooperation "To Confront Dangers That Recognize No Borders" And To "Pursue Constructive Relations With Russia." OBAMA:"We must strengthen our cooperation with one another, and with other nations and institutions around the world, to confront dangers that recognize no borders. And we must pursue constructive relations with Russia on issues of common concern." (President Barack Obama, Remarks In Prague As Delivered, Prague, Czech Republic, 4/5/09)




Obama: "To Denounce Or Shrug Off A Call For Cooperation Is An Easy But Also A Cowardly Thing To Do. That's How Wars Begin. That's Where Human Progress Ends." OBAMA:"But make no mistake: We know where that road leads. When nations and peoples allow themselves to be defined by their differences, the gulf between them widens. When we fail to pursue peace, then it stays forever beyond our grasp. We know the path when we choose fear over hope. To denounce or shrug off a call for cooperation is an easy but also a cowardly thing to do. That's how wars begin. That's where human progress ends." (President Barack Obama, Remarks In Prague As Delivered, Prague, Czech Republic, 4/5/09)




In 2009, Obama Delivered A Major Speech In Cairo, Egypt Seeking "A New Beginning Between The United States And Muslims Around The World, One Based On Mutual Interest And Mutual Respect." OBAMA:"I've come here to Cairo to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world, one based on mutual interest and mutual respect, and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition." (President Barack Obama, Remarks At Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt, 6/4/09)




Obama: We Must Put Aside "Self-Defeating" Efforts Of Subjugating One Another Along National, Tribal, And Religious Lines, So That "Whatever We Think Of The Past, We Must Not Be Prisoners To It. Our Problems Must Be Dealt With Through Partnership; Our Progress Must Be Shared." OBAMA: "For human history has often been a record of nations and tribes -- and, yes, religions -- subjugating one another in pursuit of their own interests. Yet in this new age, such attitudes are self-defeating. Given our interdependence, any world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will inevitably fail. So whatever we think of the past, we must not be prisoners to it. Our problems must be dealt with through partnership; our progress must be shared." (President Barack Obama, Remarks At Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt, 6/4/09)

https://youtu.be/KOpZZ5vFan4

Seven Years After His Early Speeches That Were Filled With Lofty Rhetoric, Obama's "Cold-Eyed View" Failed To Meet His Own Standards Of Cooperation And Partnership

Seven Years Later, Obama Has Failed To "Forge A Close Rapport With Many World Leaders" As "The Soaring, Optimistic Language Of Those Early Speeches Has Long Since Been Subsumed By The Messy Reality Of War And Diplomacy." "Seven years later, the soaring, optimistic language of those early speeches has long since been subsumed by the messy reality of war and diplomacy. Obama has not been able to forge a close rapport with many world leaders." (Greg Jaffe and Griff Witte, "A Cold-Eyed View Of Allies Has Left Obama With Few Overseas Friends," The Washington Post , 4/18/16)

The U.S. Relationship With Three Of America's Most Important Allies-Saudi Arabia, Great Britain, And Germany-Are All "Distressed" And The President Will Be Doing "More Than A Little Damage Control." "President Barack Obama will drop in on three of America's most important allies this week, possibly for the last time. But he isn't expecting an adoring reception in any of them. The U.S. relationship with all three nations is distressed, and Obama will be doing more than a little damage control." (Michael Crowley, "Obama's Big Damage-Control Tour," Politico, 4/18/16)

The President's "Cold-Eyed View" Of Alliance Relationships Was Apparent Last Year After The Charlie Hebdo Attack When No Senior Official From The U.S. Marched With European Leaders In Paris. "The president's cold-eyed view was apparent last year after the attack on the Charlie Hebdo satirical weekly by two militant gunmen. World leaders from Germany, France and Britain marched through the streets of Paris with longtime adversaries such as the Israeli prime minister and the head of the Palestinian Authority. No senior official from the United States marched with the European leaders, prompting a rare apology from the White House." (Greg Jaffe and Griff Witte, "A Cold-Eyed View Of Allies Has Left Obama With Few Overseas Friends," The Washington Post , 4/18/16)

• Xenia Wickett, Head Of Chatham House, Has Said That Obama Appears To Not Have Any Sort Of Personal Relationship With European Leaders. "'I've never heard that Obama has a personal relationship with any of them,' said Xenia Wickett, head of the Americas program at the London-based think tank Chatham House. 'It is neither hot nor cold. There is no personal relationship.'" (Greg Jaffe and Griff Witte, "A Cold-Eyed View Of Allies Has Left Obama With Few Overseas Friends," The Washington Post , 4/18/16)

Former Obama Administration State Department Official Perry Cammack: "It's Clear That The President's Cerebral, Dispassionate Approach Isn't Well Suited To The Gulf Leaders." "'It's clear that the president's cerebral, dispassionate approach isn't well suited to the gulf leaders,' said Perry Cammack, a former State Department official in the Obama administration and associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace." (Greg Jaffe and Griff Witte, "A Cold-Eyed View Of Allies Has Left Obama With Few Overseas Friends," The Washington Post , 4/18/16)

https://www.gop.com/obamas-trip-fare...d-leadership/?