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The
Fiscal Times
Top
10 Policy Blunders of 2013
By
David Francis
December
20, 2013
This
past year was a tough one for President Obama on a number of fronts.
But it was particularly difficult internationally, as the president
seemed to lurch from one crisis to the next without an apparent
cohesive strategy, hurting America’s reputation and interests.
There
were some highlights in international affairs – Secretary of State
John Kerry restarting the Israel-Palestine peace process being the
brightest. But 2013 is likely to be remembered more for mistakes than
victories.
And
boy, there a lot of mistakes. It seemed President Obama was
scrambling from one crisis to the next. Some of them were outside of
Obama’s control. But the president often was at the wrong end of
international incidents because of his own doing.
Here
are 10 examples of the biggest foreign policy blunders of the last
year.
1.
The Edward Snowden debacle. Everything about the Snowden fiasco was a
disaster. He received security clearance through a process that is
corrupt and broken. American authorities couldn’t nab him in Hong
Kong because they misspelled his name. Obama was helpless to stop
Snowden when he went to Moscow. Now, he’s disappeared into Russia,
and is peddling his secrets to Brazil in exchange for his cooperation
into their investigation of NSA activities.
Speaking
of Russia…
2.
Vladimir Putin constantly poked the United States in the eye. It’s
bad enough that Putin gave Snowden asylum, despite formal requests
from the White House to ship the NSA leaker home. Putin was also an
obstacle during the Syria chemical weapon crisis, blocking U.S.
efforts to impose sanctions. Putin eventually got his way when the
United States agreed to forgo military force and make a deal with
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. At the same time, the Russian
president continues to rule his country with an iron fist,
suppressing human rights and eliminating political opponents.
3.
The Syria crisis. The credibility of the United States was severely
damaged when Obama ignored his own red line and allowed Assad to use
chemical weapons without military intervention. The Syrian president
managed to escape severe punishment by agreeing to give up his
chemical weapons. But he’s still free to slaughter his own people,
just as he slaughtered U.S. credibility.
4.
The Afghanistan mess. There’s still no long-term security agreement
in place. Afghan President Hamid Karzai is openly hostile to the
United States. American troops continue to die there – six were
killed this week – and billions of dollars continues to disappear
due to corruption and Pentagon mismanagement. Many now expect the
same problems that plagued the country prior to 2001 to return as
soon as U.S. troops leave.
5.
Iraq is falling apart. We broke it, but we never bought it. Now,
chaos reigns in Iraq, with different factions fighting for control of
the country. And despite pleas from Iraqi leaders for assistance, the
United States refused to get involved. Time will tell if it’s a
decision U.S. officials later regret, as there are growing fears that
the country could become a safe haven for terrorists.
Read
the remaining Top 10 political blunders of 2013 at The Fiscal Times
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