February 6, 2011

The Obama Administration and the Middle East: A Half-Time Assessment

By Barry Rubin
There are people -- many in the media and academia -- who figuratively go bananas if anyone criticizes President Barack Obama. They maintain that he is doing just a great job as if this is beyond any of rational discussion. And yet what has happened in the Middle East in the first two years of his term?--The Iranians have continued full speed ahead toward getting nuclear weapons. Though the administration deserves credit for getting higher sanctions through the UN, these have not actually affected the problem.--The Israel-Palestinian peace process, partly through Obama's mismanagement, has fallen completely apart.--Lebanon has been taken over by a Hezb'allah-dominated government with Syrian and Iranian tutelage.--Hamas's control over the Gaza Strip has been stabilized and entrenched due to U.S. policy mistakes.--Turkey has continued to drift toward the Iran-Syria bloc and disregarded U.S. interests without costs.--The policy to moderate Syria has failed completely while Damascus...(Read Full Article)