Half Done! The positive outcome of long and torturous EU-US-Iran nuclear deal is one of very few achievements which can be credited as the long lasting legacy of US president Barack Obama. The other being opening of diplomatic channels with long time foe Cuba. Last week, after returning from weeklong holiday, when Obama tottered during alighting from his plane, critics said, it is symbolic of a presidency which is tottering on home front and abroad. Let's just focus on His international challenges. From Russia to middle east to the US backyard of Latin America, his presidential tenure so far has been gross failure. Obama's disinclination on committing US military have left the world in chaos. He has been pushing for diplomatic solutions instead of military ones. He rushed the troops withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan. He has encouraged local powers to intervene militarily whenever and wherever required. And his non military push has resulted in more bloodshed than he thought he could avert. His inaction has resulted in the rise of extreme Islamists IS in the middle east. Recently his officers put the blame of this chaos on the doors of his predecessor George W. Bush. True that 2003 war in Iraq resulted in the muck the US finds itself in. But Obama has positively contributed in expanding the legacy of Bush Administration. In Libya, he encouraged regime change. And the result is for all to see In Syria he Is spending millions of dollars to dethrone Assad regime. In Ukraine, he is assisting with money and military hardware. And Obama's sub ordinates still claim that he is a peacenik, trying to justify Nobel peace prize he was given in his first year in office. When we se around the world, the last six years of Obama Administration seem confounded in confusion. He enlisted his democratic presidential election rival Hillary Clinton as his Secretary of state And continued with the Bush administration's secretary of defense Robert Gates. Retaining of Gates as secretary of defense, baffled many. Why continue with a legacy when you want to change the course of action. When his second Secretary of defense Leon Panetta got embroiled in a controversy, Obama again chose Chuck Hagel of Republican party to head Pentagon. So, in his Six years of presidency, most of the time he had republicans as his secretary of defense. He wanted to push a line in which his republican rivals won't agree. This has led to chaos not just between Pentagon and White house but also has resulted in utter confusion on the part of policymaking and executions. It was good decision on the part of Obama to refrain from committing troops in various conflicts. But his decisions to rush withdrawal of troops have also to take partial responsibility of the chaos, in which the US and world finds itself. And confusion regarding taking sides with long time allies, Israel, Saudi Arabia and alienating Egypt has also played its own part. Since the Iranian revolution of seventies, US has been consistently supported Saudi adventures in the region to stem the rise of Iran. But when in their own wisdom Bushes, Senior and Junior decided to remove Saddam Hussein, they inadvertently gave a strong foothold to Iran. Subsequent Shia regimes in Iraq killed the Saudi dream of having Iraq under its influence. Saudis hold the US, solely responsible for this outcome of Iraq war. That's why they were trying to sabotage nuclear deal with Iran, in cahoots with Israel. Success of Obama administration to seal the Iran deal despite Saudi-Israel opposition is laudable. But its just the job half done. Obama, if he is really serious in Bringing peace in middle east, has to put pressure on Israel and Saudis to limit their dreams of regional hegemony, to let Iran also have its rightful pie of influence. Only then we can think of having a right direction towards which we have to move.
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