Examining U.S.

Foreign Policy in the 21st Century

1.George W. Bush – The War on Terror:

FOCUS OF US F.P :
Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Bush focused U.S. foreign policy on national security. He
went “from being a President with questionable legitimacy who had been selected in a controversial
election, to taking on immense presidential emergency powers, defining the threat and attacking the
enemy.
REACTIVE F.P. :
President Bush’s foreign policy placed emphasis on protecting the United States from attacks and threats
of terror from abroad. This protection became the involvement of U.S. troops abroad in the wars in
Afghanistan and Iraq.
RELEGATED ROLE OF CONGRESS:
During this time, U.S. Congress felt that it had not been adequately consulted regarding President Bush’s
decisions to involve U.S. troops abroad. The power to declare war lies only with Congress.
LEGACY OF THE F.P.:
The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq came to dominate the legacy of Bush’s foreign policy and would
continue to issues that needed to be reconciled under the leadership of President Obama.
2.Barack Obama – A Return to U.S. Soil:

REMOVAL OF TROOPS AND STABILITY :

President Obama inherited a precarious system of foreign policy when he began his presidency in 2008.
U.S. troops were still in Afghanistan and Iraq. Safely removing U.S. troops while also maintaining stability
in the two countries presented a daunting task. Still dedicated to the efforts of President Bush to eradicate
terrorist groups threatening the well-being of the U.S., President Obama sent additional troops into
Afghanistan in 2009.

  President Obama was successful in completely removing troops from Iraq in 2011.

REMOVAL OF TROOPS FROM AFGHANISTAN AND ISSUE OF SYRIA :
The full removal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan proved to be difficult. Matters did not improve with the
killing of Osama bin Laden in 2011. Instead, the world saw the birth of ISIS in 2014, a terrorist group that
swiftly took advantage of the civil war-weakened state of Syria to establish itself within the country.
Though Obama was able to fully remove troops from Afghanistan in 2014, the situation in Syria continued
to mount in severity. Determined to avoid a new war in Syria, President Obama instead sanctioned
airstrikes on Syria in an effort to destroy ISIS in 2014. This effort was in response to a video of two
American journalists being beheaded by the terrorist organization.
COMPARISON OF BUSH AND OBAMA FOREIGN POLICY :
Like President Bush, President Obama also found the situation in the Middle East to be difficult to
manage and control. While President Bush’s approach to U.S. involvement abroad could be classified as
reactive, President Obama’s approach is doggedly pragmatic. Obama appeared to be reluctant to further
involve the U.S. in wars abroad following the lengthy wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq.
3.Donald Trump – Carrying a Big Stick:

The presidencies and respective foreign policies of George Bush and Barack Obama have clear ties to
one another. They are on a continuum. President Trump, however, has taken an entirely different
approach to foreign policy during his own presidency.

UNCERTAINITY :
President Trump’s approach to foreign policy has proven to be unpredictable for Republicans and
Democrats alike. Despite the careful planning of his predecessors to create stability and strength for the
U.S. on the global sphere, Trump appears to want to prove to the world that the U.S. is a force to be
reckoned with.
Interestingly, Trump has shown himself to be” distrustful of U.S. allies” and preexisting international
organizations. He instead has preferred to conduct U.S. foreign relations on his own terms. In the spring
of 2019 in a historic moment, President Trump met with Kim Jong-un, leader of North Korea, to discuss to
future of the two countries. Though it is unknown what exact words were exchanged between the two
leaders, President Trump appeared to be satisfied with the conversation that he and Kim Jong-un had. It
is unclear at this point what President Trump’s foreign policy legacy will be.