President Obama laid out a foreign policy vision on Wednesday for his final two and a half years in office, responding to critics who have said the United States has been rudderless amid crises. Mr. Obama’s critics were quick to respond to his speech. A few of those responses are highlighted below:
“This seemed to be an attempt to make the case for what you might call threading the needle between too much and too little involvement in the world. It seemed to be making the case for a responsible, centrist approach. But it was more clear what it was against, than what it was actually for.” — Richard N. Haass, the president of the Council on Foreign Relations
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“Since President Obama took office, a series of foreign policy plans and visions have been put forward; assurances have been made. But too often, strong words have been followed by weak actions, or no actions. The result has been a general loss of U.S. credibility, making successful foreign policy nearly impossible.” — Representative Ed Royce, Republican of California and chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee
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“Today, the president proved once again that he is intent on picking his conflicts based on politics, instead of dealing with the problems at hand. He has elected to pull out of Afghanistan based on arbitrary timetables, as opposed to building on the progress and sacrifices of both our Armed Forces and the Afghan people, and is choosing to leave too soon. Conversely, he has chosen to engage in Syria too late.”
“This president must come to grips with the fact that Islamist extremism and Al Qaeda-linked groups are spreading, becoming more powerful and still intend to do us harm. Therefore America’s leadership, not its withdrawal, is more crucial than ever.” — Representative Michael McCaul, Republican of Texas and chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee
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“Clear, effective #Obama speech at #West Point. Call for US leadership as ‘indispensable’ and ‘exceptional.’ And more focus on diplomacy.” — R. Nicholas Burns, a former undersecretary of state for George W. Bush, on Twitter
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“From drones and emissions, to the South China Sea to Somalia to the Crimea and back again, it’s not easy connect the many dots of America’s foreign policies. Because aside from tortured rhetoric, unified they are not. From his speech, it sounds like Obama is convinced of the right things: negotiation (not war) with Iran; a push for nuclear disarmament; cutting carbon emissions. But it’s hard not to wish that there was a greater sense of someone stitching these many threads into a greater whole, while abandoning those parts, like drone strikes, that are downright wrong.” — Carne Ross, a former British diplomat writing on theguardian.com
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