by Zalman Shoval
Less than three weeks
before the midterm elections in the United States, the war against the
Islamic State group has become one of the most significant issues in the
campaign, which is in the Republicans' favor.
This is an ironic turn
of events, as not long ago various political pundits and pollsters
hedged that foreign policy, especially concerning the Middle East, would
have little impact on the midterm elections. On the contrary, they
said, the current congressional race is devoid of any ideological
characteristics, and the voters are likely to make their decision based
on their attitude towards U.S. President Barack Obama.
The fact that the
president plays such a key role in the voters' considerations is also
surprising, as midterm elections are usually decided according to local
interests, rather than any wider, national interest. This time, however,
the congressional race is likely to reflect the voters' confidence --
or lack thereof -- in Obama's performance.
The latter is also
reflected in the American public's view of the economic situation in the
U.S., where the administration has marked some positive
accomplishments, including a significant drop in unemployment. While
this should have helped the Democrats' prospects in the midterm
elections, recent polls have found the majority of Americans do not
credit Obama with this improvement.
Two years ago, the
Obama administration declared its intent to shift the focus of its
foreign policy from the Middle East to Southeast Asia. This included
pulling all American troops from Iraq and removing nearly all American
troops from Afghanistan, as well as reducing the war on terror.
But then, as if to mock
the administration's new policies, things blew up in Obama's face:
Syria plunged into a bloody civil war; U.S. Ambassador to Libya
Christopher Stevens was killed in an attack on the American consulate in
Benghazi; Egypt underwent a political change the U.S. failed to
understand; and various al-Qaida offshoots broke free, giving birth to
the formidable threat now known as Islamic State.
The gruesome footage of
Islamic State terrorists beheading hostages, including American ones,
as well as the other horrific acts the group has perpetrated, shifted
the needle of the political barometer in the U.S. from overall
opposition to any American involvement in the Middle East, to growing --
albeit limited -- support in such involvement.
Obama too, had come to
the conclusion that the United States can no longer stand idly by, and
ordered an aerial campaign against Islamic State targets, hoping
military action would redeem his faltering leadership in the public's
eye; but the American public's support of his decision has yet to
translate into an improvement in the president's or the Democratic
Party's approval ratings.
The fact that several
former Washington officials recently published memoirs leveling harsh
criticism at what they called the Obama administration's foreign and
Mideast policy failures, did little to help the situation. Former
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, for example, said Obama had "lost his
way," while former State Department official Vali Nasr slammed the
president as "shallow, politically driven and uninterested in real
diplomacy." Similar descriptions appeared in the memoirs of other former
administration officials.
The Republicans
traditionally enjoy the American public's trust when it comes to matters
of national security -- even if said trust is not always justified --
so there is little wonder why Republican candidates have been trying to
milk the new and timely jihadist threat for all it is worth.
We were not the ones to
point out the president's faults -- his own advisors have done so, the
Republicans' campaign states. Obama, it says, is confused and does not
grasp the gravity of the threat Islamic terrorism poses.
The results of
November's midterm elections may not directly shape the U.S.'s foreign
policy for the remainder of Obama's term in office, but they will have
some impact on it, including on issues concerning Israel.
While Obama's unprecedented
security collaboration with Israel is commendable, another possible
result of the midterm election is that the chaotic realities of the
Middle East, and the U.S.'s concern that Islamist terrorism will reach
its soil, might reflect positively on Israel's importance as a strategic
ally to Washington.
Zalman Shoval
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=10269
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
No comments:
Post a Comment