How Obama Sees The World

Presidential Candidate Barack Obama Holding Fareed Zakaria Latest Book

From Newsweek:

The rap on Barack Obama, at least in the realm of foreign policy, has been that he is a softheaded idealist who thinks that he can charm America's enemies. John McCain and his campaign, conservative columnists and right-wing bloggers all paint a picture of a liberal dreamer who wishes away the world's dangers. Even President Bush stepped into the fray earlier this year to condemn the Illinois senator's willingness to meet with tyrants as naive. Some commentators have acted as if Obama, touring the Middle East and Europe this week on his first trip abroad since effectively wrapping up the nomination, is in for a rude awakening.

These critiques, however, are off the mark. Over the course of the campaign against Hillary Clinton and now McCain, Obama has elaborated more and more the ideas that would undergird his foreign policy as president. What emerges is a world view that is far from that of a typical liberal, much closer to that of a traditional realist. It is interesting to note that, at least in terms of the historical schools of foreign policy, Obama seems to be the cool conservative and McCain the exuberant idealist.

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My Comment: Fareed Zakaria wants to see what he wants from Barack Obama, and Barack Obama obliged him. I naturally have a different take on Barack Obama than what Fareed Zakaria has.

I was struck in an interview that Barack Obama gave a few months ago in which he stated that the philosopher/moralist that he admired the most was Reinhold Niebuhr, Jimmy Carter's favorite theologian. Reinhold Niebuhr's is the late 20th century's most innovative philosopher, bringing and discussing concepts like "just war", and the inherent evil in man.

The money quote that Mr. Obama has made in reference to his personal philosophy is the following:

From Niebuhr, Obama gleaned that, "There's serious evil in the world, and hardship and pain. And we should be humble and modest in our belief we can eliminate those things. I take away ... the sense we have to make these efforts knowing they are hard, and not swinging from naïve idealism to bitter realism." He then called Niebuhr his "favourite philosopher."

This sounds very idealistic to me .... a point that Fareed Zakaria does not want to explore.

I perceive Mr. Obama as a man who (like former President Jimmy Carter) wants to project soft power. That through discussion, persuasion, the influence of allies, etc., that America's long term strategic needs can be met.

I disagree.

Mr. Obama's approach towards using soft power after 9/11 would have been a disaster. Al Qaeda would still be entrenched in their Afghan camps (many times more stronger than what they were then), Saddam Hussein .... a messianic despot if their ever was one .... would still be in power but without sanctions or restrictions. Nuclear programs will be the norm in Libya, North Korea, and elsewhere.

9/11 was a sequence of events in which hard power had to be the response. The American people knew this, the President and Congress knew this, but Barack Obama felt and still feels that there should have been a limit to this application.

Barack Obama has great faith in international institutions, and that they should be used to pursue American strategic goals within its framework. Again .... I will disagree. International institutions have been a dismal failure in the past 20 years. Rwanda, oil for food program in Iraq, Somalia, and today .... Zimbabwe, Darfur, Burma, the Horn of Africa, Iran's nuclear program, and rogue states.

My most worrisome concern about Barack Obama is that much of what he stands for is still not known. He has shielded himself from making policy announcements on where he stands. I know that it is still early in the campaign, but this silence is troubling. He must feel that what he is comfortable with will not resonate with the American public. I have always learned that if one feels comfortable with a position, there will be no problem for him to vocalize this point of view. With the exception of Iraq , in which he has repeatedly voiced the need to withdraw now .... what his approach towards other foreign policy concerns is still lacking in specifics.

I hope that his policy specifics will be known before November.