History repeating itself as Obama worsens U.S. image worldwide & students re-evaluate support.

Published in The Catalyst 

After his disapproval rating topped 50 percent and the divided country rejected his party during the midterm elections, one can imagine our President was happy to visit his childhood home in Indonesia and escape it all. Luckily for him, in that leg of his 10-day trip to Asia nothing went wrong.

Things turned real sour for Barrack Obama, however, when he left Indonesia for a high-expectation trip to South Korea. Obama landed with big hopes of reaching two vital foreign policy goals. The first failed flat as the U.S was unable to achieve a long-awaited free trade agreement with South Korea. The president’s second goal- to unify nations around worldwide economic stimulus was discarded on a monumental level. Germany, Great Brittan, China and South Korea all criticized the attempt, labeling it as a selfish ploy to boost the value of the American dollar. The trip marked the first time in U.S history that a president and his treasury Secretary were entirely rebuffed at an international economic summit.

After the pitiful failure of the United States in Korea, the news hit America hard. November 12^th’s Seattle Times cover read “Cooperation tumbles at G-20 summit as trade tensions cloud horizons”. The front page of The New York Times spelled things out clearly- “Obama’s economic view is rejected on World Stage”. As for the Wall Street Journal, “Embarrassment is Seoul”. What’s clear is that the world is not cooperating with Barack Obama, who many say is isolating the world left and right.

“Moving the deadline for withdrawal in Afghanistan from July 2011 to late 2014 sent a clear message to the international community” argued sophomore Noah Gallo-Brown. “I’ve always been behind Obama, but there is no doubt he’s alienating some traditionally anti-war allies right now.” Other students on campus expressed a lack of confidence in Obama’s ability to produce results on an international stage. “I’m not surprised worldwide support is fading,” said sophomore Kalia Ryan. “He has not proven to anyone he’s able to achieve US interests away from home”. 

President Obama is facing a public increasingly disapproving of a seemingly endless War against the Taliban, as many believe he invoked September 11^th to justify a pursuit of the wrong target, away from Pakistan. Sound familiar? The outrage with President Bush’s foreign policy came largely from the false drawing of connection between Pakistan’s plane hijackers and Iraq. History seems to be repeating itself here, as we can all remember the ugly days of the US war on terror as then-president George W. Bush faced tremendous scorn from an American public practically ready to try him for war crimes. The unjust occupation of the Iraqi people resulted in the loss of more American’s than the September 11^th attacks that prompted invasion. In Afghanistan, a massive surge in troop levels and a commitment to remain on the ground for years to come largely mirrors the strategy of our previous administration in Iraq.

Disdain for the War in Afghanistan has grown internationally- particularly amongst countries with troops assisting the U.S mission. The Dutch people have protested in large numbers against their military’s involvement in the Middle East. President of one of the most anti-war publics in France, Nicholas Sarkosy, declared 8 months ago that he would not add troops to Afghanistan, and as citizens have pressured him to remain firm on the issue, France has pushed back against American pressure to up levels of combat soldiers. Great Britain sent just five hundred British troops to Afghanistan due to the ever-growing opposition the war throughout the UK.

So, as Barrack Obama loses international citizens he once winned over, American has already begun to asses if he will remain our president for a second term. “2012 could prove that this administration is losing trust” says Native American Spanish major, Joel Begay. “People are beginning to re-evaluate his presidency”.