Obama Administration’s political agenda and objectives (5-10 pages)
It’s no secret that President Obama focused on his domestic policy objectives over his foreign policy projects. The Obama administration’s stated primary
policies included accessible health care, public education and social programs, and to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Obama’s own biopic and the
many books written by former members of his staff all include discussions regarding a focus on the former President’s domestic platform and the lack of
clear foreign policy issues. This included the ostracization of some long time political allies, including Saudi Arabia and Israel, over his approach towards
Iran. This section will state and analyze President Obama’s overall policies objectives, the origin of President Obama’s campaign objectives, and the
implementation of these during his tenure.
Obama Administration’s foreign policy objectives (10-15 pages)
The Obama Administration’s stated foreign policy objectives included a refocus on defeating al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan, increased nuclear
weapons security and counter-proliferation, and diplomacy towards Iran to prevent them from attaining a nuclear weapon. This section will dive into the
Obama Administration’s foreign policy activities to give the reader a better understanding of how the Obama Administration created a pull back of American
grand strategy and the large spending on the global war on terror.
Obama Administration’s Middle Eastern strategy, objectives, shortcomings, analysis (10-15 pages)
This section will focus on the Obama Administration’s outreach to Middle Eastern allies (Iraq and Iran will be discussed together in the next section), the
tensions that arose between Saudi Arabia and Israel over the Iranian deal, and the U.S engagement with Middle Eastern/North African countries during the
Arab Spring in 2011. This section ties into the Obama Administration’s policy actions on Iraq because of President Obama’s weariness to continue to engage
U.S. actions in the Middle East following our continued military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Obama Administration’s Iraq policy, objectives, and extrication of US military presence in Iraq in December 2011 (15-20 pages)
President Obama was a long opponent of US involvement in Iraq, and he announced in February 2009 the withdrawal of US combat troops from Iraq. The US
and its allies planed to establish an engagement and peacekeeping force, similar to the NATO mission in Kosovo, as a stay-behind transitional force of
training, advising, and equipping the Iraqi Security Forces, but this plan failed to come to fruition due to multiple foreign policy errors, Iranian meddling, and
Iraqi unwillingness to agree on a Status of Forces Agreement with the United States. This section will begin with an analysis of former Senator Obama’s
opposition to the invasion of Iraq, his rhetoric prior to his inauguration, and the policy objectives and discussions that ultimately led to the full US military
withdrawal of Iraq in 2011.
Point/Counterpoint: A discussion and analysis on scenarios post-US withdrawal (10-15 pages)
– Obama’s soft approach to the Arab Spring and ultimately the Syrian Civil War allowed ISIS to gain physical territory in Syria and Iraq (5 pages)
– ISIS would exist regardless of the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq (5 pages)
– The Iranian nuclear deal permanently damaged US interests in the Middle East, ostracized historic US partners, and damaged Iranian meddling in Iraqi
affairs (5 pages)