Research

As a candidate, Barack Obama promised big on foreign policy and what he could achieve. As president for three years, President Obama failed to deliver. From Israel to Guantanamo Bay, Obama said one thing but did another.

Israel:

In 2008, Obama Said That He Would Maintain “An Unwavering Friendship With Israel, And An Unshakeable Commitment To Its Security.” “That is the change we need in our foreign policy. Change that restores American power and influence. Change accompanied by a pledge that I will make known to allies and adversaries alike: that America maintains an unwavering friendship with Israel, and an unshakeable commitment to its security.” (Barack Obama, Remarks To AIPAC, Washington, D.C. 6/4/08)

Obama Spoke In May 2011 Calling For Israel To Withdraw To The 1967 Borders For A Two State Solution. “Forcefully stepping into an explosive Middle East debate, President Barack Obama on Thursday endorsed a key Palestinian demand for the borders of its future state and prodded Israel to accept that it can never have a truly peaceful nation based on ‘permanent occupation.’ Obama’s urging that a Palestinian state be based on 1967 borders — before the Six Day War in which Israel occupied East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza — was a significant shift in the U.S. approach. It drew an immediate negative response from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is to meet with Obama at the White House Friday.” (Ben Feller, “Obama Urges Israel To Go Back To 1967 Borders,” The Associated Press, 5/19/11)

Middle East Peace Process:

In 2008, Barack Obama Said As President He Would Make Middle East Peace A Top Priority. “As president, I will work to help Israel achieve the goal of two states, a Jewish state of Israel and a Palestinian state, living side by side in peace and security. And I won't wait until the waning days of my presidency. I will take an active role, and make a personal commitment to do all I can to advance the cause of peace from the start of my administration.” (Barack Obama, Remarks To AIPAC, Washington, D.C. 6/4/08)

Today, The Associated Press: “Obama Mideast Policy Adrift Amid Crises.” “The world's lone superpower has become superpowerless in one of the world's most intractable conflicts. Boxed in by competing political and diplomatic agendas, the United States has lost the ability to stop either the Israelis or the Palestinians from acting against the interests of U.S.-backed peace efforts and against the express wishes of the United States.” (Matthew Lee, “Analysis: Obama Mideast Policy Adrift Amid Crises,” The Associated Press, 11/3/11)

• Obama Administration “Either Unwilling Or Unable To Push The Two Sides To The Bargaining Table Or Stop Them From Taking Actions That Further Damage The Prospects For Relaunching Moribund Peace Talks.” “Palestinians are pressing their bid for recognition at the United Nations and membership in U.N. agencies. The Israelis respond by accelerating settlement activity and withholding Palestinian tax revenue. The Obama administration is either unwilling or unable to push the two sides to the bargaining table or stop them from taking actions that further damage the prospects for relaunching moribund peace talks.” (Matthew Lee, “Analysis: Obama Mideast Policy Adrift Amid Crises,” The Associated Press, 11/3/11)

Guantanamo Bay:

Immediately After Taking Office, Obama Signed An Executive Order To Close Guantanamo Bay’s Detainment Camp Within One Year. "President Obama signed executive orders Thursday... ordering the closing of the Guantanamo detention camp within a year." (Mark Mazzetti and William Glaberson, "Obama Issues Directive To Shut Down Guantanamo," The New York Times, 1/21/09; The White House, Executive Order -- Review And Disposition Of Individuals Detained At The Guantánamo Bay Naval Base And Closure Of Detention Facilities, Press Release, 1/22/09)

• Obama Said Guantanamo Bay “Has Weakened American National Security.” “Guantanamo became a symbol that helped al Qaeda recruit terrorists to its cause.  Indeed, the existence of Guantanamo likely created more terrorists around the world than it ever detained… So the record is clear:  Rather than keeping us safer, the prison at Guantanamo has weakened American national security.” (President Barack Obama, “Remarks By The President On National Security,” The White House, 5/21/09)
• President-Elect Obama In November 2008: “I Have Said Repeatedly That I Intend To Close Guantanamo, And I Will Follow Through On That.” CBS’ STEVE KROFT: “There are a number of different things that you could do early pertaining to executive orders. One of them is to shutdown Guantanamo Bay. Another is to change interrogation methods that are used by U.S. troops. Are those things that you plan to take early action on?” PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA: “Yes. I have said repeatedly that I intend to close Guantanamo, and I will follow through on that.” (CBS’ “60 Minutes,” 11/16/08)

In March 2011, Obama Acknowledged That Guantanamo Will Not Be Closed. “The pledge to close Guantánamo within one year ran up against a wall of congressional opposition. In March 2011, Obama gave the go-ahead for military trials to resume at the detention camp, implicitly acknowledging it will not be closed.” (Niall Stanage, “Obama ’12: The Record He’ll Run On,” The Hill, 6/6/11)

• The White House Failed To “Present A Concrete Plan” On Closing Guantanamo.  “As the process was getting underway in the spring, the administration began losing support for shutting the facility, in part, officials now say, because the White House did not present a concrete plan for what it would do with the remaining terrorism suspects.” (Anne E. Kornblut and Dafna Linzer, “White House Regroups On Guantanamo,” The Washington Post, 9/25/09)
• The White House Now Acknowledges That The Prison Could Stay Open Until 2013. “Stymied by political opposition and focused on competing priorities, the Obama administration has sidelined efforts to close the Guantánamo prison, making it unlikely that President Obama will fulfill his promise to close it before his term ends in 2013.” (Charlie Savage, “Closing Guantanamo Fades As A Priority,” The New York Times, 6/25/10)

Military Tribunals:

As A Candidate, President Obama Promised To End The Use Of Military Tribunals At Guantanamo Bay. “After all, it was candidate Obama in 2008 who made clear he intended to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility within a year of his presidency and put an end to military tribunals there – the proceedings that extend only limited trial rights to accused terrorists. Then, it was President Obama who quickly signed an order calling for Guanatanomo's close while his Justice Department soon vowed that, in the interest of justice, Khalid Sheik Mohammed and other alleged 9/11 terrorists will be tried in civilian courts.” (Alexander Mooney, “Gitmo Tribunal Move The Latest In Long Line Of Obama Shifts,” CNN, 4/4/11)

• Obama Promised In 2008 That He Would Reject The Military Commissions Act. “He will reject the Military Commissions Act, which allowed the U.S. to circumvent Geneva Conventions in the handling of detainees. He will develop a fair and thorough process based on the Uniform Code of Military Justice to distinguish between those prisoners who should be prosecuted for their crimes, those who can’t be prosecuted but who can be held in a manner consistent with the laws of war, and those who should be released or transferred to their home countries..” (Obama ’08, “Barack Obama: The War We Need To Win,” Fact Sheet)

Attorney General Eric Holder Announced That The 9/11 Terrorists Will Not Be Tried In Civilian Court And Will Face A Military Tribunal At Guantanamo. “But three years later – the same day Obama formally announced his reelection bid – Attorney General Eric Holder announced the alleged 9/11 terrorists will in fact not be tried in a civilian court but instead in a military tribunal at Guantanamo – the same court in the same facility Obama long ago promised would be shuttered." (Alexander Mooney, “Gitmo Tribunal Move The Latest In Long Line Of Obama Shifts,” CNN, 4/4/11)

• Politifact Rated Obama’s Promise To Develop Alternative To Military Commissions Act On Handling Detainees As “Promise Broken.” “Without any clear alternatives, the Obama administration has been forced into employing the military tribunal system to try terrorist suspects. President Obama pledged that he would develop an alternative to military commissions. Despite the administration's efforts, we do not see this happening at any point in the near future. We rate this Promise Broken.” (David G. Taylor, “No End In Sight For Military Commissions,” Politifact, 9/21/11)

Renditions And Indefinite Detention:

In 2007, Obama Said He Would End Practice Of Renditions And “Detaining Thousands Without Charge Or Trial.” “To build a better, freer world, we must first behave in ways that reflect the decency and aspirations of the American people… This means ending the practices of shipping away prisoners in the dead of night to be tortured in far-off countries, of detaining thousands without charge or trial, of maintaining a network of secret prisons to jail people beyond the reach of the law.” (Barack Obama, “Renewing American Leadership,” Foreign Affairs, 7/07)

In 2009, Obama Extended The CIA’s Power To “Carry Out What Are Known As Renditions, Secret Abductions And Transfers Of Prisoners To Countries That Cooperate With The United States.” “The CIA's secret prisons are being shuttered. Harsh interrogation techniques are off-limits. And Guantanamo Bay will eventually go back to being a wind-swept naval base on the southeastern corner of Cuba. But even while dismantling these programs, President Obama left intact an equally controversial counter-terrorism tool. Under executive orders issued by Obama recently, the CIA still has authority to carry out what are known as renditions, secret abductions and transfers of prisoners to countries that cooperate with the United States.” (Greg Miller, “Obama Preserves Renditions As Counter-Terrorism Tool,” Los Angeles Times, 2/1/09)

Renegotiating NAFTA:

In 2008, Obama Pledged To Renegotiate NAFTA With The Threat Of A “Potential Opt-Out.” NBC’s Tim Russert: “A simple question. Will you as president say to Canada and Mexico, this [NAFTA] has not worked for us, we are out?” Obama: “I will make sure that we renegotiate in the same way that Senator Clinton talked about, and I think actually Senator Clinton’s answer on this one is right. I think we should use the hammer of a potential opt-out as leverage to ensure that we actually get labor and environmental standards that are enforced.” (Sen. Barack Obama, MSNBC Democrat Presidential Debate, Cleveland, OH, 2/26/08)

• Obama: “I Think We Should Now Re-Examine NAFTA.” (Chuck Sweeny, “Obama Leaves Good Impression In Forest City,” Rockford [IL] Register Star, 12/2/03)
• Obama: "I Don't Think NAFTA Has Been Good For America - And I Never Have." Obama: "Ten years after NAFTA passed, Senator Clinton said it was good for America. ... Well, I don't think NAFTA has been good for America - and I never have." (David Espo, "Obama Hits Clinton On NAFTA Support," The Associated Press, 2/24/08)

Even Before The Campaign Was Over, Obama Backtracked On His NAFTA Rhetoric Saying “‘Sometimes During Campaigns The Rhetoric Gets Overheated And Amplified.” “‘Sometimes during campaigns the rhetoric gets overheated and amplified,’ he conceded, after I reminded him that he had called NAFTA ‘devastating’ and ‘a big mistake,’ despite nonpartisan studies concluding that the trade zone has had a mild, positive effect on the U.S. economy.” (Nina Easton, “Obama: NAFTA Not So Bad After All,” CNN Money, 6/18/08)

• Obama Campaign Economic Advisor Austan Goolsbee Told The Canadian Consulate That Obama’s Stance On NAFTA Was “More Reflective Of Political Maneuvering Than Policy.”“On Monday, a memorandum surfaced, obtained by The Associated Press, showing that Austan D. Goolsbee, a professor of economics at the University of Chicago who is Mr. Obama’s senior economic policy adviser, met officials last month at the Canadian consulate in Chicago. According to the writer of the memorandum, Joseph De Mora, a political and economic affairs consular officer, Professor Goolsbee assured them that Mr. Obama’s protectionist stand on the trail was ‘more reflective of political maneuvering than policy.’” (Michael Luo, “Memo Gives Canada’s Account of Obama Campaign’s Meeting on Nafta,” The New York Times, 3/4/08)