The Good
- Iraq and Afghanistan: In his first 100 days, President
Obama has largely continued to implement the strategic course laid
out by the Bush Administration in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan,
which makes sense. U.S. vital interests do not change because of
partisan shifts in power, and neither do the facts on the ground,
the resources available to the nation, or the enemy's
objectives.
The Bad
- Dumbing Down Missile Defense: In his first 100 days, the
President approved a roughly 20% cut for missile defense and
abandoned deploying defenses to Western Europe.
-
Appeasing North Korea and Iran: The White House
downplayed the U.S. response to North Korea and Iran's provocative
missile launches and failed to obtain a serious U.N. Security
Council response to either incident. Despite the advances made in
these two countries, the President wants to focus on "regional
missile threats."
- Change on Cuba: In his first 100 days, the President
ended 50 years of U.S. policy on Cuba, claiming it had not worked.
If a similar strategy had been followed with the Soviet Union, the
U.S. would have abandoned containment long before the Cold War
ended. This new policy may leave other dictators questioning the
seriousness of U.S. opposition to oppression and systemic
violations of human and civil rights.
The Ugly
- Gutting the Defense Budget: In his first 100 days,
President Obama proposed a budget that would cut deep into defense
procurement programs while phasing out supplemental spending to
cover the costs in Iraq and Afghanistan, which will now also cut
into the "core" Pentagon budget.
- "Cold War" Weapons: These cuts were justified as
eliminating "Cold War" weapons systems including the F-22 stealth
fighter and next generation Navy destroyer. All the programs
designated for elimination were started after the Cold War ended
and were justified by Presidents on both sides of the aisle.
- Ho-Hum on Homeland Security: In his first 100 days,
President Obama has been ambivalent and contradictory on homeland
security and counterterrorism policies since 9/11, including
avoiding the discussion altogether and reversing strategies at the
border and with immigration enforcement. The Administration lacks a
coherent approach to homeland security.
- Detainee and Counterterrorism Policy: President Obama
has promised the closure of Guantanamo Bay and repudiated
interrogation policies and has been unclear about reauthorizing
vital counterterrorism tools granted by the USA PATRIOT Act. While
dismissing past policy, the President has not offered any credible
alternatives to address pre-9/11 problems in combating terrorism
identified by the 9/11 Commission.
Hit the Reset Button
- The Lesson of 100 Days: The President must start over on
national security and reconsider unwarranted missile defense and
Pentagon procurement cuts, finalize and implement change in
reorganizing the National Security Council, and place serious
effort in engaging with Congress and the American people on matters
of national security.
For more information, please
visit: http://blog.heritage.org/2009/04/27/100-days-of-good-bad-and-ugly.