Obama Foreign Policy Success or Failure

I could subtitle this post "Drezner vs. Walt".  Drezner the avowed liberal (on both accounts of how we IR people use the terms, Drezner is both a domestic political liberal and liberal theory advocate in IR) and Walt (who is less deliberate in identifying his domestic political leaning but is an advocate of realism in IR) have both recently posted on Foreign Policy (foreignpolicy.com) regarding the success or failure of Obama's foreign policy.  Drezner and Walt both agree that domestic constraints have limited what Obama is free to do in the foreign policy arena, but they disagree on the good or bad of the outcomes.  You can read Drezner's post here (it is the one dated Oct. 21).  You can read Walt's post here.

Personally, I lean toward Walt on this one.  I am a weak realist in IR, prefer to look at things constructively, and definitely do not agree with much of Obama's foreign policy decisions (for that matter, I did not agree with much of Bush's foreign policy either) and I am quite sure the combination of Bush's spending and Obama's desire to make the country a socialist haven are both quite egregious domestic plans.  Some days being a libertarian is a great joy.

Qaddafi or Gaddafi

I realize that Q or G met his demise a few days back.  I generally do not blog on weekends--particularly in the fall there are much better things to do:  football (American), hunting, shooting, camping (I prefer fall camping to summer).  But as an academic in the realm of international relations and a student of violent conflict I feel obliged to make some comment.

Well, I hope the next government of Libya works out better for the people of Libya.  I hope the next government of Libya works out better for the people of Lockerbie, Scotland as well as other places around the globe.  I really do not know what to expect and do not believe that any other "experts" really know what to expect at this point.  So, I will be pleasantly surprised if a government emerges that is more akin to my own philosophical leanings of limited governmental interference in the lives of citizens and allowance of maximum personal liberty.  I will not be surprised if the government turns out to be Euro social democrat or U.S. big government-esque.  I will be only mildly perturbed if the government turns out as bad as most governments in North Africa have been in the last two decades and continue to be post Arab Spring (Ok, maybe I am being a bit impatient here, but other than elections in Tunisia {which means what for that government}, have we seen any real movement toward better governance in North Africa or the Middle East?). 

And of course, as I said I have personal consideration of what good governance looks like, and do not expect the people of Libya, Egypt (insert any country here_______________) to agree with me.  Look, I am trying real hard not to be a Western elitist snob here, but I continue to agree with Winston Churchill about democracy (worst form of govt except all the others that have been tried) and Locke and Voltaire about the rights of man (Jefferson borrowed his ideas from them, so I can too!).  So, I am willing to be convinced that some other forms of govt have merit in places where people have different ideas of social organization, civic virtue, and economic regulation than I currently possess.

So farewell Q or G.  Bring on the next _______ government of Libya.

Leaves Falling

Oh yeah, and if several more leaves do fall--my trees are getting bare--it is ok.  I also bought a leaf blower/mulcher today while I was picking up the steam cleaner for the carpet.

Round Two of Watching Leaves Fall

Hey, just another day in the life of a college professor.  I started the day by vacuuming floors and then steam cleaning them.  No complaints about it really.  I had the time to do it.  Good news is that this kept me away from my other task for the end of the week...grading 78 5-7 page analytical reviews.  Maybe I ought not give so many writing assignments.  Wait, if I did not give these assignments I would be like the bozos in my field that I dislike for their lack of industry and their desire to be either popular with the students or unencumbered by anything other than research.  While I enjoy research and engage in as much as possible, many of us seem to forget that part of being an academic is teaching and this requires work beyond just lecturing.  Thanks Steve for teaching me to be conscientious about teaching in all its aspects--lecturing, testing, and grading.

Pig Roast

Kudos to the GCC Outing Club and their alumni for the annual pig roast.  Great fun had by the Two Cents family and the roast pig was ok too.  The boys got to play in the woods and get muddy (it was raining, as it has for 4 out of the 6 Outing Club pig roasts I have attended) like boys should.  The apple pie that we won in the raffle was great (I actually got one slice before the boys got to it).  Look forward to next year's festivities already. 

Just Watching the Leaves Fall, er excuse me..Grading Exams.

Started one of the sad rituals of fall, or spring, last night...grading mid-term take home exams.  Good news is the student's work is not all that bad usually.  Bad news is, I still have to grade this stuff and I'd much rather stare out the window and watch leaves fall.  I think I can go ahead and paint the living room now--why wait for the new drywall to be installed in the spring.  Of course I am whining a little here, after all I do this to myself by requiring my students to show me that they can grasp ideas, analyze various data transmitted to them in various methods and create a synthesized answer to an occasionally abstract question.  My students will be better off for having completed this exercise.  I, on the other hand, will be irritable over the lack of sleep required to get these graded before mid-term grades are due.  But again, my students were irritable last week because of the sleep they lost completing the exam.  The pros and cons can continue, they whining can continue, in the end, this is part of my life and in a purely sadistic sort of way, I love it.  Now, back to watching leaves fall....

Ababasiar an Agent of Iran?

Lots of stuff in the news saying that there was a plot to kill the Saudi ambassador to the U.S. on U.S. soil.  The U.S. even has a captured Iranian national(?), Manour Ababasiar, in custody for the attempted assassination.  Problem is, do we really have evidence?  Outside of the Atty. General's office and the White House, does anyone really know what is happening in regard to this incident?   Have you seen Ababasiar--he's a keystone cop in need of the uniform, a clown in need of a red nose or a car to climb out of in the center ring.  Does anyone really believe that the Iranian Republican Guard's most elite unit, the Quds, would utilize this guy for a serious mission in the U.S. where the government is know to react rather harshly to attacks on people and property located in the territory it governs?  Well Mr. President, if you have the evidence it is time to share the information.

American Hubris

I actually enjoy reading Foreign Policy on three or four times per week as I eat lunch at my desk.  Yes, I know I should get out from behind my desk, go get some exercise or something, but high calorie, high carb foods eaten at my desk always seem to win over walking, running, etc.   Today, I read the selection of articles from 6 non-U.S. journalists responding to the question: What is Wrong with America?  My first thought is why can we not say United States, after all Canada (gasp!) is even part of America and what is wrong with Canada (cold, poor infrastruture (seen the roads in Montreal lately), cold, problematic political structures, cold--did I mention it is cold in Canada already?) is not what is wrong with the United States.  Then it caught my eye--it being Ian Buruma's article about the Imperial hubris of the U.S.  Of course, the editorial staff of FP had already shown that hubris in the question--what is wrong with America? rather than what is wrong with the United States.

I am no fan of the idea of American Exceptionalism agreeing with many quality intellectuals that this idea is a mythological fabrication born of over zealous patriotism.  I quite agree with Buruma that many of my fellow citizens are of the opinion that whatever our way is, is the best way for everyone.  I also agree that we have taken upon ourselves the duty of spreading freedom and democracy throughout the world.  We either do it by spreading electoral politics--which can simply be democrazy in some areas (ask Paul Collier)--or by force--want a dictator? no you don't, you want democracy and here it is via the latest variant of that awful rifle, the M-16 (see my previous blog on my favorite military rifles).

I do have some questions for Buruma.  One, how did the Soviet Union hold the illusion of American omnipotence in check?  Two, I would like an fuller explanation of the "atmosphere of paranoia" that has brought disastrous results.

Finally, I think the point about gradual militarization of our society is well thought.  Even some former military officers and scholars have taken up this point.  Notably among them is Andrew Bacevich who raises this argument in his book The New American Militarism. 

Anyway, kudos to FP for today's (10/12/11) edition, good stuff, intellectual challenges are offered, read up.

Shameless Plug

Ok. it is my blog, so I can shamelessly plug my latest scholarly publication.  Resulting from our 2010 trip to Israel for a counter-terrorism seminar, several of my travel companions and I joined together to write a book placing the 2010 Gaza Flotilla incident (which happened on our first morning in Israel).  I co-author with Jeanette Fregulia an introductory chapter on ethno-political and religious issues of the greater Israeli-Palestinian problem.  So, check it out, some of it may even be worth reading...