Obama’s Final Countdown

With the conclusion of 2016, President Barack Obama prepares to terminate his reign in the White House. Eight years have passed by, and the world we live in today looks very much different to the world George W. Bush left us with. Many have claimed that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been costly, ineffective, and have de-stabilized the region beyond repair. I argue, that we did not know what true de-stabilization meant, until 2008.  In fact, I am deeply convinced that President Obama’s foreign policy will be considered the worst in American presidential history. From his failure in abiding by past presidential legacies, to his ineptitude in dealing with Middle Eastern affairs. The incumbent President has kneeled in front of enemies and has pushed away our closest allies around the world.

The unbreakable bond forged over decades between the United States of America and the State of Israel has suffered immensely under this administration, especially in the past two months. During this small period, the Obama administration stood by, as the international community denied the Jewish State its religious and historical bond to the city of Jerusalem. Two days ago, John Kerry delivered, what may very well be, his last speech in office in which he did not waste a single minute in defaming the State of Israel and its political composition. In Washington D.C, this past Wednesday, John Kerry stated: “If the choice is one state, Israel can either be Jewish or democratic, but it cannot be both.” The hypocrisy here is irrefutable. Instead of using this last opportunity to condemn Russian aggression in the Crimean Peninsula, to criticize Chinese abuse of human rights, or to even address the half a million people killed in Syria, he chooses to label Netanyahu’s government as the most right-winged in Israeli history. He even declares this to be the biggest threat to peace in the region.

Syria has been at war for over five years. It has served as a breeding ground for terrorist organizations from all over the region. Millions of people have lost their homes and are banging at the gates of Europe demanding asylum. Over half a million people have been murdered by the Assad regime and the use of chemical weapons has devastated populated cities all around the nation. Obama’s failure in deterring the use of such arsenal and his inability to contain the civil war has created a regional disaster which only time will reveal its definitive outcome. How exactly does Israel fail to in being a democratic state? It is maybe the only nation in the region where a member of your family will not be stoned to death for being attracted to the same sex. A country where Christian, Muslims, and Jews all have rights of freedom of worships and all are first class citizens. A Jewish nation which treats its Arab citizens with the same rights and freedoms as Jews do. After eight years in office, Obama fails to see the consequences of his disastrous foreign policy and persist in his slandering of the State of Israel.

This two-term administration has supported communist and violent regimes all throughout the world. It has failed to deter Russian aggressive expansion in Eastern Europe, it has disastrously approached the Middle East by supporting the toppling of regimes who have historically stabilized the region, it has created a painted road for Iran’s future nuclear program and finally, it has led to the development and flourishment of perhaps the most destructive and violent terrorist organization in history. President Obama has welcomed Raul Castro and Hugo Chavez with open arms, permitted Putin to use force in his annexation of Crimea and has time and time again allowed China to violate human rights, pursue aggressive trade throughout the region, and fluctuate its currencyThe threat to peace is seen everywhere else but Israel. A nation which provides medical assistance and responds to every and any environmental crisis around the globe is not a threat to peace. A nation-leading in innovative technology and constantly seeking to evolve socially is not a threat to peace. A nation in which gays, lesbians, and transsexuals can march freely in the streets in a region they would otherwise be persecuted and killed, is not a threat to peace. Lastly, a nation which seeks to pursue the highest degree of safety for its citizens is not a threat to peace.

The threat to peace has been the destructive foreign policies created by the Obama administration. As an Israeli-American, I am optimistic that not even Obama’s disastrous politics were relevant enough to destroy the enormous cooperative and ideological bond that exists between the US and Israel.

These next 18 days could not go by fast enough.