Tag: Iran Deal

ARTICLE: The State of U.S. Foreign Policy After Barack Obama

A two-part series on the state of U.S. foreign policy following eight perilous years of the Obama Doctrine.

obama-trumpBy Erin Rodewald // February 9, 2017

(This article originally appeared as a two-part series at The Philos Project, here and here)

What Leading from Behind has Left Behind in U.S. Foreign Policy

President Donald Trump was sworn into office a mere three weeks ago. Already, the fear of a new American isolationism, of retrenchment, and even the forfeiture of foremost leadership in world affairs has some longing for the “good old days” of the Obama Administration, when the U.S. seemed rooted in robust global engagement.

While it is still too early for a comprehensive retrospective on the Obama years, the basic principles that animated the Obama Doctrine are recognizable. Before a false nostalgia sets in, it would be prudent to make a clear-eyed examination of America’s foreign policy stature after eight years of “leading from behind.”

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ARTICLE: The Art of the [Iran] Deal: Will Trump Abide or Abort the Agreement?

President-Elect Donald Trump has called the Iran Deal “disastrous” and “catastrophic,” yet his intentions about it remain unclear.

(This article originally appeared in The Philos Project)

There is no shortage of prognosticating attached to the forthcoming Trump administration. During the long election season, President-Elect Donald Trump was long on fiery rhetoric, but short on policy details, leaving observers uncertain as to how a President Trump would approach the highest job in the land. But then, that is the Trump way – keep ‘em guessing.

Will he actually build a wall? Will he blow up Obamacare? Is NATO truly on its last legs? Of the myriad foreign and domestic balls in the air between now and Jan. 20, perhaps the most supercharged international concern is the future of President Barack Obama’s signature foreign policy initiative – the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Trump has called the deal “disastrous” and “catastrophic,” yet his intentions about it remain unclear. In one major foreign policy speech earlier this year, he made two seemingly contradictory promises: to both dismantle the deal and enforce its terms.

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