Obama\'s foreign policy in retrospect

US-EGYPT: The United States maintained cordial relations with Egypt for decades despite the latter having abysmal records of human rights. According to the Human Rights Watch Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has presided over the most serious human rights crisis in his country's modern history. The government has jailed hundreds of political prisoners, awarded capital punishments on trumped-up charges, harassed media personnel and shut down media outlets. Obama administration abstained from condemning the government in public and kept the business as usual for strategic reasons. It may be recalled since the Camp David Agreement signed in 1978, Egypt is a recipient of $2 billion annual package from the United States as economic and military assistance.
The uprising in 2012 that ultimately overthrew Hosni Mubarak caught Washington by surprise. It could not ignore peoples' aspirations for a democratic government but found it difficult to disown the dictator who had cultivated friendly relation with Washington for decades. Despite Washington's reservation on Muslim Brotherhood's political objectives, it accorded recognition to the new government led by Mohammed Morsi. But the government was dislodged by the military after a year. The removal of a popularly elected government posed fresh challenge to Washington. Obama halted, then resumed military assistance dispelling the impression that Washington would hold the regime accountable for its unlawful conduct. In the meantime, insurgency resurrected and tourism collapsed. Nearly a quarter of Egypt's population now lives in poverty and unemployment stands at 13 per cent. The dire economic situation forced the government to seek a loan of $12 billion from the IMF, which came with condition of strict austerity measures.
US-SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Arabia, as the principal oil producer in the region, played an important role in the OPEC in ensuring stability of the oil price much to the comfort of Europe and North America. Saudi Arabia is the second largest purchaser of arms and ammunitions including F-16 from the United States. The relation came under strain when Obama initiated dialogue with Iran which culminated into a nuclear agreement in July 2015. Obama advised Saudi Arabia to learn to coexist with Iran and share the region peacefully. Washington secured Riyadh's acquiescence on nuclear agreement by offering a sale of $11 billion worth weapons.
In January 2016, Shia cleric Sheikh NimrBaqr al-Nimr along with his 46 cohorts was executed. He was accused of inciting violence against the government and thereby posing security risk to the country. Sheikh was tried in the court but the Human Rights Groups condemned the trial as travesty of justice and demanded the Sheikh and his co-accused to be set free.
Sheikh Nimr was not a cleric. He was demanding fair treatment of the Shia Muslims which comprised 15 per cent of the population mostly living in Dahlan region.  Sheikh favoured election as a means to reform the political system in the Kingdom and in the Gulf States. Sheikh Nimr did not belong to any radical outfit but he opposed monarchy. All these did not go down well with the royal family and Sheikh paid the supreme price.
The political system in Saudi Arabia is obsolete and incompatible with the present age. One single family cannot be entrusted to rule a country. The era of absolute monarchy had yielded to constitutional monarchy long ago and constitutional monarchy is now being challenged. The tragedy in Mina during the 2015 pilgrimage that killed about 4,000 people bears a hallmark of incompetence of Saudi administration. It is time for Saudi Arabia to fall in line with the rest of the world and accept pluralism in governance, restore rule of law and make judiciary independent.
US-UKRAINE: Crimea's annexation with mainland Russia was retaliation against European Union (EU) and NATO's expansion to north and Eastern Europe. Moscow felt that by embracing the countries that were constituents of the Soviet Union, EU and NATO attempted to circumvent Moscow's influence and establish martial supremacy of NATO in the region. Moscow not only annexed Crimea, it also infiltrated troops into the north and eastern regions of Ukraine on the pretext of safeguarding ethnic Russians. The US response was not robust. It imposed international sanction against Russia. The European countries despite their heavy reliance on gas imported from Russia collaborated with the US in imposing sanction. Notwithstanding NATO's military supremacy, Europeans were not willing to challenge Russia's belligerence militarily which is reminiscent of Germany's occupation of Poland in 1939. Since Crimea's annexation in March 2014, Ukraine stands truncated - it receives moral and political support from Europe and North America but doesn't have strength to expel the invader.
US-NATO & EUROPEAN UNION: Following the end of the World War II, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as the major super powers in the world. Both super powers competed to expand their sphere of influence over Europe which was mired in struggle to recover from the destruction inflicted during the war. The United States provided generous assistance to the European countries to rebuild their infrastructures, restructure economies and reorganise the defense forces. The creation of NATO in 1949 was necessitated by the security threat posed by the Soviet Union. During the past seventy years, NATO served as Trans-Atlantic alliance to enforce common objectives.  
The convergence of political and economic interests led to the formation of the EU and over the years it consolidated the association. The setting up of the European Parliament, embracing a common currency and introducing Schengen visa aimed at strengthening political unification in Europe. Great Britain was always an irritant in the EU. It joined the union but refrained from accepting single currency. It did not approve of the Schengen visa service. In October 2016, Great Britain decided to exit from the EU causing a crack in the union.
The Obama administration made partnership with Europe pivotal to its foreign policy. It believed Europe politically united and militarily emasculated is essential to peace and stability for Europe and the Mediterranean regions and crucial to security of the United States. Obama cultivated special relationship with Angela Markel in Germany, Gordon Brown and David Cameron in England, Sarkozy and Hollande in France and took them into confidence in dealing with international crisis. Obama had also established honourable relationship with His Holiness Pope Francis. This was a marked departure from Bush administration. When France and Germany opposed United States' coercing of the United Nations in favour of Iraq invasion, Rumsfeld, former Defense Secretary, disdainfully characterised them as representing "Old Europe".George Bush and his advisors became unwanted in Europe.
US-CUBA: The missile crisis in 1962 was followed by the imposition of economic sanction by the United States. Cuba was considered a hostile country embedded with the Soviet bloc. Its ruler Fidel Castro's policies earned him few friends in the United States. Thousands of Cubans fled and took refuge in Miami, Florida. The collapse of the Soviet Union ruined Cuba's trade concentrated in the socialist countries and dried up economic assistance from Moscow. Cuba attracted very few foreign investments and coupled with the decline of export of sugar more and more people fell into poverty. Cuba claims that the sanction has cost her nearly $764 billion and its Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez called it "a flagrant violation of international law". But Fidel Castro and later on Raul Castro remained defiant and continued pursuing centralised economy and regimented politics in the country.
President Obama, after being re-elected, reached out to Cuba, a foe who could not have been clobbered, despite decades of sanctions. Following months of secret negotiation, a breakthrough was achieved in December 2014. Obama declared termination of sanctions and establishment of diplomatic relation with Cuba. On the following year, he visited Havana and both countries assigned Ambassadors signalling restoration of full diplomatic relations. Restrictions on trade and travels eased, and American Airlines resumed flights to Havana.
Critics remonstrated that Cuban rulers haven't ceased oppression and about 8,500 dissidents have been rounded up in 2016. Obama argued that with the exchange of visits and trade picking up leaders will realise the futility in pursuing a brutal policy and see the dividends of pluralism. Exiled Cubans will be tempted to return home and investment from US will follow. America will get a new market of 11 million people.
CONCLUSION: President Obama salvaged the US economy from the worst recession since 1930. He acknowledged that racism cannot be overcome in a given period but felt the situation has improved. He was overwhelmed at the gun violence but the Congress failed to restrict sale of fire arms. Obama became a victim of dysfunctional system - when proposal of his administration were endorsed and opposed on the party lines. He displayed realistic foreign policy that restored respect for the United States and opened new avenues of cooperation. His profound faith in people became the driving force in his quest for peace and transformed him into a statesman. Obama, despite variance between rhetoric and accomplishments, will be recognised as one of the most consequential leaders of the United States.
The writer is a former official of the United Nations. darahman.
chowdhury@hotmail.com