Barack Obama

List of Barack Obama articles

Barack Obama stands at a lectern with blurred faces and signs behind him.
Barack Obama stands at a lectern with blurred faces and signs behind him.

What Harris Can Take From Obama’s Very First Convention Speech

Twenty years later, the case for progressive patriotism rings true.

Then-U.S. President Barack Obama, standing with then-Vice President Joe Biden, holds a press conference about the Iran nuclear deal at the White House in Washington on July 14, 2015.
Then-U.S. President Barack Obama, standing with then-Vice President Joe Biden, holds a press conference about the Iran nuclear deal at the White House in Washington on July 14, 2015.

U.S. Fixation on Nuclear Deal Let Iran Loose on the Middle East

Washington’s shortsighted policies enabled Tehran and its proxies to destabilize the region.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama chat after a bilateral meeting at the G-20 summit in Los Cabos, Mexico.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama chat after a bilateral meeting at the G-20 summit in Los Cabos, Mexico.

The Long, Destructive Shadow of Obama’s Russia Doctrine

A series of bad decisions during the Obama years prepared the ground for Vladimir Putin’s war.

Speechwriter Ben Rhodes attends press briefing.
Speechwriter Ben Rhodes attends press briefing.

Generation X’s Short Arc of History

Ben Rhodes’s new book about global politics reveals the limits of the Obama administration’s worldview.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton chats with Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton chats with Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi

Who Lost Myanmar?

Facing its first major crisis, the Biden administration must confront a failure of U.S. diplomacy orchestrated by some of its own players nearly a decade ago.

Activists burn the U.S. flag during a protest against U.S. drone attacks in Multan, Pakistan on March 14, 2012.
Activists burn the U.S. flag during a protest against U.S. drone attacks in Multan, Pakistan on March 14, 2012.

Obama’s Brutal Drone Legacy Will Haunt the Biden Administration

In his memoirs, the former U.S. president seems uninterested in a critical appraisal of his drone policies. Considering the human suffering caused by America’s drone wars, Joe Biden should not make the same mistake.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and then-U.S. President Barack Obama
Russian President Vladimir Putin and then-U.S. President Barack Obama

In Memoir, Obama Calls Putin a ‘Ward Boss, Except With Nukes’

The former U.S. president frankly assesses foreign leaders he met—and many fail to earn his esteem.

An art enthusiast paints  the face of U.S. vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris outside a drawing school in Mumbai on Aug. 13.
An art enthusiast paints the face of U.S. vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris outside a drawing school in Mumbai on Aug. 13.

Kamala Harris Is a Soft-Power Boon for America’s Global Image

The vice presidential candidate’s foreign-policy takes are conventional, but her identity is transformational.

Russian honor guards march during a military parade at Red Square in Moscow on Nov. 7, 2018.
Russian honor guards march during a military parade at Red Square in Moscow on Nov. 7, 2018.

No More Resets With Russia

Washington should not talk itself into accepting Moscow’s aggression—again.

The Pentagon
The Pentagon

Top Trump Pentagon Nominee Walks Back Offensive Tweets

Anthony Tata says he retracts his 2018 tweets calling former President Barack Obama a “terrorist leader.”

A MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft is parked in an aircraft shelter at Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs, Nevada, on Nov. 17, 2015.
A MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft is parked in an aircraft shelter at Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs, Nevada, on Nov. 17, 2015.

Trump Inherited the Drone War but Ditched Accountability

Only a single formal check remains on U.S. killings worldwide.

Pakistani Shiite Muslims in Lahore burn U.S. and Israeli flags in a protest against the killing of top Iranian commander Qassem Suleimani on Jan. 7.
Pakistani Shiite Muslims in Lahore burn U.S. and Israeli flags in a protest against the killing of top Iranian commander Qassem Suleimani on Jan. 7.

An Eye for an Eye Doesn’t Make Americans Safer

The Trump administration is doubling down on vengeance as a foreign-policy doctrine, placing the United States and its allies in danger.

Then-Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders walks with President Barack Obama as he arrives at the White House for an Oval Office meeting on June 9, 2016.
Then-Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders walks with President Barack Obama as he arrives at the White House for an Oval Office meeting on June 9, 2016.

Obama’s Foreign Policy Is Winning the 2020 Democratic Primary

Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are ready to move past the Obama administration—except when it comes to military intervention.

U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley before addressing troops at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan during a surprise Thanksgiving Day visit on Nov. 28.
U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley before addressing troops at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan during a surprise Thanksgiving Day visit on Nov. 28.

Everyone Knows America Lost Afghanistan Long Ago

Inflated threats, concealed costs, and lack of accountability for failure—and the complicity of the foreign-policy establishment—have kept the infinity war going for 18 years.

A soldier stands guard as cocaine seized on the Atlantic coast of Honduras is incinerated on October 17, 2013.
A soldier stands guard as cocaine seized on the Atlantic coast of Honduras is incinerated on October 17, 2013.

In Honduras, the U.S. War on Drugs Is Empowering Corrupt Elites

The Central American country has become a transit zone for drug traffickers and the center of a biofuel boom. Dispossessed indigenous groups are paying the price.

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