President Barack Obama signs an Emergency Declaration for the State of Arkansas Wednesday evening, Jan. 28, 2008 in the Oval Office, and also signed a declaration for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. (White House photo by Pete Souza). Top 10 Foreign Policy Challenges Facing Barack Obama In 2011 -- The Telegraph
So what will 2011 bring? Here are some of the challenges President Barack Obama will be grappling with in the coming year:
1. Afghanistan/Pakistan
No prizes for guessing that this is likely to be the number one issue, though to listen to Obama you wouldn’t know it. While broadly adopting what I think was the right policy in Afghanistan (a troop surge and an attempt at a comprehensive counter-insurgency strategy) after years of the country playing second fiddle to Iraq, Obama’s heart has never seemed to be in this war. His announcement of a troop withdrawal from July 2011 was deeply damaging in the eyes of those who count the most – the Afghan people, whose support is central to success. That’s now been superseded by Nato’s December 2014 deadline for security responsibility to be transferred to the Afghans. At least that buys the US military and its allies more time but I’m unconvinced that deadlines in wars make much sense. Progress in Afghanistan is agonisingly slow. When I visited there recently on a Pentagon trip, I found a war still raging in the east and relative stability in Helmand now that force densities and resources are at the correct level. But fundamental underlying problems remain, principally:
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My Comment: What is my number one concern .... the sovereign debt crisis. Any significant default will impact tens of millions and will jeopardize a financial structure that many of us are now totally dependent on.