Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Obama's Foreign Policy Amateurish and Naive

Krauthammer finds the Nobel not premature, but ridiculous

By John Johnson, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 16, 2009 9:02 AM CDT

(Newser) – President Obama's Nobel prompted Charles Krauthammer to review the administration's foreign policy moves to date, and from Iran to Russia to China, he finds nothing but failure. "It is amateurishness, wrapped in naivete, inside credulity," he complains. "In short, the very stuff of Nobels." Obama gets credit for planting seeds, but his yield after 9 months is laughable.

Take the decision to scrap the missile shield in Europe. "Surely we got something in return for selling out our friends?" Krauthammer asks in the Washington Post. But no, Moscow hasn't budged an inch on Iran. Similarly, Obama held his tongue during the Iranian protests and snubbed the Dalai Lama, then got zilch from Tehran and Beijing. To buy into the Obama hype, "you have to be a dreamy adolescent (preferably Scandinavian and a member of the Socialist International) or an indiscriminate imbiber of White House talking points."

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

President Obama speaks at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser in San Francisco Thursday. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

About the only thing more comical than Barack Obama's Nobel Peace Prize was the reaction of those who deemed the award "premature." - Charles Krauthammer

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Obama Orders Sanctions Against Iran's Central Bank

Tougher measures were included under NDAA

(NEWSER) - President Obama issued an executive order today imposing tough new sanctions on Iran's Central Bank. The order freezes "all property and interests in property of the Government of Iran," and of "any Iranian financial institution." The sanctions were included in the controversial defense bill Obama signed a little over a month ago, but Obama is instituting them well ahead of the six-month deadline the bill imposed, the AP reports. More»

Obama: Israel Not Sure About Bombing Iran

President urges diplomatic solution to nuclear crisis

(AP) - President Barack Obama said today he does not think Israel has decided whether to attack Iran over its disputed nuclear program, a standoff that has the Middle East on edge. The president sought to assure allies and foes alike that the United States was working in lockstep with Israel to solve the crisis, "hopefully diplomatically." Obama's comments came as Israel's major allies in the West are working hard to talk it out of a unilateral military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, arguing forcefully that an attack ultimately would only strengthen the regime in Tehran. More»

Iran Helping Syria Skirt Sanctions

And Russia is shipping in weapons

(NEWSER) - Iran is quietly helping Syria evade US and European Union sanctions by selling its oil on the international market, US officials have discovered. Transit records show that one shipment last month saw more than 91000 metric tons of crude sent to Iran, the Wall Street Journal reports. An Iranian spokesman at the UN confirmed as much, saying there were no international sanctions against Syria that Iran was required to respect. He added that outside powers, not Iran, were sending weapons to Damascus. More»

Israel: Decision on Iran Attack 'Very Far Off'

Meanwhile, Russia says it won't support sanctions

(NEWSER) - Iran got some good news today, as Israel moved to defuse tensions and Russia indicated it likely would not support more sanctions against the rogue nation. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said a decision on whether to attack Iran to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons was "very far off," the New York Times reports. He added that Israel remains convinced that Iran has not begun building such a weapon. More»

Hey Israel: Stay Out of Iran

Roger Cohen offers plenty of reasons why

(NEWSER) - Israel is considering bombing Iran within months, against the White House's wishes—a decision that would be utterly disastrous on multiple fronts, writes Roger Cohen in the New York Times . Benjamin Netanyahu sees a number of reasons to do so sooner rather than later: First, Israel is concerned that Iran is getting too close to a nuclear weapon. Second, attacking before the US election would make it politically impossible for President Obama to come out against the move. Tempting for the Israeli PM, perhaps—but Cohen offers more than a few reasons it would be "a terrible mistake." More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Obama's Foreign Policy Amateurish and Naive