Cuba

Originally posted by Time Immemorial
Did you forget about Bengazi and that mess he pulled?

Also the above things you mentioned,
1st failed so does not count.
2nd Iran is not negotiating anything
The prisoner swap was good.
China has not done anything about reducing them.
We have a good relationship with the EU because its a must.

The 1st still counts because simply getting two stubborn mules like Erdogan and Netanyahu to agree to hashing things out is an accomplishment
On Iran, that's your belief; the difficulty with Iran is that negotiators on both sides are limited by how much bending backward their respective conservative forces will allow.
Just getting China to agree to the principle of reductions is an accomplishment.
I'll admit that the EU thing is 90% EU weakness more than any gesture that America made, but Obama did the right thing by calling for changes to the NSA's policies. It's just the Republicans in Congress who refused to rein them in.

Obama has done much to restore trust and respect in America abroad these last few years. On this regard I applaud him. That said, I also think he's weakened the profile of the American president by being indecisive at critical moments. Asking the Iranians to give us back our stealth drone was probably the dumbest foreign policy move by a president in living memory. I also think his "Red Line" on Syria was a terrible idea--why make a threat if you're not going to back it up?

So yes, Obama isn't the greatest when it comes to foreign policy, but to say he has no acumen is going a bit far.

Obama's been a better president than Bush Jr., that's for sure.

Originally posted by Omega Vision
Benghazi was the fault of the State Department primarily. It was a nasty mess to be sure.

The 1st still counts because simply getting two stubborn mules like Erdogan and Netanyahu to agree to hashing things out is an accomplishment
On Iran, that's your belief; the difficulty with Iran is that negotiators on both sides are limited by how much bending backward their respective conservative forces will allow.
Just getting China to agree to the principle of reductions is an accomplishment.
I'll admit that the EU thing is 90% EU weakness more than any gesture that America made, but Obama did the right thing by calling for changes to the NSA's policies. It's just the Republicans in Congress who refused to rein them in.

Obama has done much to restore trust and respect in America abroad these last few years. On this regard I applaud him. That said, I also think he's weakened the profile of the American president by being indecisive at critical moments. Asking the Iranians to give us back our stealth drone was probably the dumbest foreign policy move by a president in living memory. I also think his "Red Line" on Syria was a terrible idea--why make a threat if you're not going to back it up?

So yes, Obama isn't the greatest when it comes to foreign policy, but to say he has no acumen is going a bit far.

Bush at least stood up to Russia and people knew not to question his resolve.

Originally posted by Time Immemorial
Bush at least stood up to Russia and people knew not to question his resolve.

Have we forgotten Bush's infamous "I looked into Putin's eyes and saw a good man" comment?

Originally posted by Omega Vision
Bush didn't do much more than Obama did with regards to Russia.

Have we forgotten Bush's infamous "I looked into Putin's eyes and saw a good man" comment?

He would not have allowed Russia to take over Ukraine. Or give more power and money to Cuba.

Originally posted by Time Immemorial
He would not have allowed Russia to take over Ukraine.

What is that supposed to mean? Did you want Obama to start WWIII? And if not, what do you think would have been the proper course of action?

Originally posted by Lestov16
What is that supposed to mean? Did you want Obama to start WWIII? And if not, what do you think would have been the proper course of action?

No, its just Putin knows Obama is a push over and can do whatever he wants without any fallbacks.

Originally posted by Time Immemorial
Because the Cubans, on the other hand, will see a river of US dollars headed their way, all of which will be vacuumed up by the Communist Party as it's illegal for Cubans to do business in US dollars. The Cuban peso, of course, is worth less than toilet paper.

You can thank America for that.

Originally posted by FinalAnswer
You can thank America for that.

Yes Cuba is Americas fault. We told them to put ICBM's on their shitty island in the 60's.

And here I thought it was when America backed up a corrupt despot.

Originally posted by FinalAnswer
And here I thought it was when America backed up a corrupt despot.

Are you suggesting we backed up Castro in the 60's, lol.

No I'm suggesting you backed up the guy that caused Castro to start his revolution in the first place.

Originally posted by FinalAnswer
No I'm suggesting you backed up the guy that caused Castro to start his revolution in the first place.

Doubtful as I was not alive in the 60's.

Are you sure?

Originally posted by FinalAnswer
No I'm suggesting you backed up the guy that caused Castro to start his revolution in the first place.

YouTube video

lmfao!!

TE, Final Answer is talking about Batista, who was indeed a highly unpopular, corrupt, and brutal dictator. Many of the regimes that hate us the most around the world exist today because we propped up or tried to prop up the dictatorships that preceded them.

Originally posted by Time Immemorial
He would not have allowed Russia to take over Ukraine. Or give more power and money to Cuba.

Really, short of starting a war with Russia, there's no way America could have stopped the annexation of Crimea.

Originally posted by Omega Vision
TE, Final Answer is talking about Batista, who was indeed a highly unpopular, corrupt, and brutal dictator. Many of the regimes that hate us the most around the world exist today because we propped up or tried to prop up the dictatorships that preceded them.

He 'allowed' Russia to invade Georgia and carve out two pieces of its territory. But really there wasn't much Bush could have done about that.

Really, short of starting a war with Russia, there's no way America could have stopped the annexation of Crimea.

Ah I see, did not know who he was talking about.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-30704932

So looks like there is some progress in Cuba. Let's wait and see if it's a sign of a real shift in Cuba's position or just window dressing to make it easier for trade to commence.

Originally posted by Time Immemorial
No, its just Putin knows Obama is a push over and can do whatever he wants without any fallbacks.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article17866142.html

Well, well, it would seem for the first time since the Cuban Revolution, the American president is more popular among Cubans than the Castro brothers. According to a recent poll in Cuba, 80 percent of Cubans hold a "positive" or "very positive" view of Obama, against a 50 percent for Fidel and 48 percent for Raul.

The poll also revealed that Cubans are (1) by a huge majority hungry for economic and political change, (2) supportive of the thaw and an end to the embargo, and (3) again by a huge majority, yearning to leave Cuba, mostly for the United States.