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Title: Most successful post-Cold War foreign policy? Post by: FEMA Camp Administrator on March 18, 2012, 03:02:52 PM Of the four Presidents we've had since the fall of the Berlin Wall (1989) and the collapse of the Soviet Union (1991), which President has had the most successful foreign policy? The options we're given are
-George H.W. Bush (1989-1993) -William Jefferson Clinton (1993-2001) -George W. Bush (2001-2009) -Barack Obama (2009-?) Please state your opinions and give the reasons why. Title: Re: Most successful post-Cold War foreign policy? Post by: Vosem on March 19, 2012, 06:02:32 AM The latter Bush actually overthrew the Taliban and Hussein, so probably him. None of them were bad.
Title: Re: Most successful post-Cold War foreign policy? Post by: Middle-aged Europe on March 21, 2012, 02:16:15 PM Bill Clinton.
Dayton Accords, Good Friday Agreement, and a couple of other treaties come to mind. His efforts to solve the Middle East problem were in large parts in vain, but at least it resulted in a lasting peace between Israel and Jordan. The latter Bush actually overthrew the Taliban and Hussein, so probably him. None of them were bad. "Overthrown" is at best an exaggaration. Temporarily weakened maybe. Title: Re: Most successful post-Cold War foreign policy? Post by: dead0man on March 22, 2012, 04:32:26 AM Probably Clinton, but even he had his faults. Trying to feed Somalia, and then abandoning them when some bastards shot at us wasn't exactly a triumph.
Title: Re: Most successful post-Cold War foreign policy? Post by: Grumpier Than Thou on March 22, 2012, 08:10:16 AM Jesus Christ none of the above.
Title: Re: Most successful post-Cold War foreign policy? Post by: tpfkaw on March 22, 2012, 11:45:32 AM Bush I by default,* but yuck.
*Least inclined to grovel for the Israelis. Title: Re: Most successful post-Cold War foreign policy? Post by: courts on March 22, 2012, 01:22:45 PM Bush I by default,* but yuck. *Least inclined to grovel for the Israelis. Title: Re: Most successful post-Cold War foreign policy? Post by: Redalgo on March 22, 2012, 03:03:36 PM George H.W. Bush - mostly since Bill Clinton did not get us involved in Rwanda and both the latter Bush, and now Obama, have pursued the War on Terror in a manner I find unsettling.
Title: Re: Most successful post-Cold War foreign policy? Post by: Cory on March 27, 2012, 09:25:23 AM I would say either Bush Senior of Bill Clinton.
Title: Re: Most successful post-Cold War foreign policy? Post by: Snowstalker Mk. II on April 02, 2012, 08:38:13 PM Bush Sr. by default, with Obama in second. Clinton should have gone into Rwanda and should not have gone into Yugoslavia, and Bush II was the biggest supporter of war profiteering ever.
Title: Re: Most successful post-Cold War foreign policy? Post by: WillK on April 03, 2012, 02:46:14 PM Probably Clinton, but even he had his faults. Trying to feed Somalia, and then abandoning them when some bastards shot at us wasn't exactly a triumph. It was Bush Sr who sent US troops into Somalia; Clinton inherited the situation. Title: Re: Most successful post-Cold War foreign policy? Post by: Rooney on April 04, 2012, 01:53:46 PM Since post-Cold War American foreign policy has pretty much been the U.S. sends troops to prop up/remove a dictator or intervening in some cause that is selectively called "ethnic cleansing" by the foreign policy elite is it not debatable that President G.W. Bush was the most successful? After all he took that to the logical extreme.
Title: Re: Most successful post-Cold War foreign policy? Post by: MASHED POTATOES. VOTE! on April 04, 2012, 02:21:35 PM Clinton's foreign policy was extremely incoherent. He had periods of interventionism, semi-isolationism and multilateralism.
Title: Re: Most successful post-Cold War foreign policy? Post by: Mechaman on April 04, 2012, 03:36:12 PM Clinton's foreign policy was extremely incoherent. He had periods of interventionism, semi-isolationism and multilateralism. Bill Clinton's foreign policy was whatever the Gallup Gods dictated. Title: Re: Most successful post-Cold War foreign policy? Post by: WillK on April 04, 2012, 09:54:16 PM Since post-Cold War American foreign policy has pretty much been the U.S. sends troops to prop up/remove a dictator or intervening in some cause that is selectively called "ethnic cleansing" by the foreign policy elite is it not debatable that President G.W. Bush was the most successful? After all he took that to the logical extreme. Seems to me that Panama and Gulf War1 were more successful than Afghanistan and GulfWar2 Title: Re: Most successful post-Cold War foreign policy? Post by: Cobbler on April 07, 2012, 08:12:25 PM GHW Bush, Obama, Clinton and then Dubya.
Title: Re: Most successful post-Cold War foreign policy? Post by: Purch on April 10, 2012, 05:30:03 AM Are we talking about the same Bill Clinton who bombed the crap out of Iraq throughout his whole impeachment vote? Not to mention the missiles he dropped on on Afghanistan. And to answer the Op they were all just horrible.
Title: Re: Most successful post-Cold War foreign policy? Post by: dead0man on April 10, 2012, 06:31:37 AM Probably Clinton, but even he had his faults. Trying to feed Somalia, and then abandoning them when some bastards shot at us wasn't exactly a triumph. It was Bush Sr who sent US troops into Somalia; Clinton inherited the situation. (of course those numbers pale when compared to the hundreds of thousands who starved to death or died in the ensuing civil war...not to mention the hundreds of thousands that have died since....obviously it's not all Clinton's fault, the asshats from there trying to enforce their idiotic rules on the locals deserve the lion's share of the blame) Title: Re: Most successful post-Cold War foreign policy? Post by: courts on April 10, 2012, 06:37:53 AM Are we talking about the same Bill Clinton who bombed the crap out of Iraq throughout his whole impeachment vote? Not to mention the missiles he dropped on on Afghanistan. And to answer the Op they were all just horrible. Title: Re: Most successful post-Cold War foreign policy? Post by: Purch on April 10, 2012, 09:08:17 AM Are we talking about the same Bill Clinton who bombed the crap out of Iraq throughout his whole impeachment vote? Not to mention the missiles he dropped on on Afghanistan. And to answer the Op they were all just horrible. Exactly, I'm not saying Cliton was the worst, I'm saying picking any of these President's is impossible because it's not one foreign policy that made our relationship with the middle east so bad(It takes a bipartisan effort to screw things up this badly over a span of about 3 decades).. It's a combination of these administrations and their constant interference in middle eastern affairs. Title: Re: Most successful post-Cold War foreign policy? Post by: Donerail on April 15, 2012, 06:55:18 PM Jesus Christ none of the above. This, and, are those my only choices? Title: Re: Most successful post-Cold War foreign policy? Post by: Cory on April 17, 2012, 12:30:18 AM This, and, are those my only choices? Yes. Those are the only post-Cold War Presidents we've had thus far. Title: Re: Most successful post-Cold War foreign policy? Post by: 🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸 on April 17, 2012, 02:42:16 PM Are we talking about the same Bill Clinton who bombed the crap out of Iraq throughout his whole impeachment vote? Not to mention the missiles he dropped on on Afghanistan. And to answer the Op they were all just horrible. Title: Re: Most successful post-Cold War foreign policy? Post by: morgieb on April 17, 2012, 08:37:11 PM None of them really. Obama was the least repulsive of the three, IMO (Bush Snr. doesn't really count as he was voted out of office after a year)
Title: Re: Most successful post-Cold War foreign policy? Post by: TNF on April 19, 2012, 12:19:17 AM Clinton's foreign policy was extremely incoherent. He had periods of interventionism, semi-isolationism and multilateralism. Bill Clinton's foreign policy was whatever the Gallup Gods dictated. Much like everything else about Clinton's presidency, of course. I think Bush I had the best, followed by Obama, then Clinton, and then Bush II. Title: Re: Most successful post-Cold War foreign policy? Post by: Supersonic on May 05, 2012, 10:32:34 AM GHW Bush, Obama, Clinton and then Dubya. I'm thinking this. Title: Re: Most successful post-Cold War foreign policy? Post by: Bacon King on May 09, 2012, 06:42:46 AM Bush I: "we need to invade this country to arrest it's dictator for drug trafficking charges before the public learns that I gave him the go ahead to smuggle cocaine into the US to fund his coup!"
Clinton: "can't stop genocide, Gallop says public doesnt want war!" Bush II: "I'm gonna fabricate claims and divert the war on terrorism to overthrow that dictator with the oil that my pappy fought!" Obama: ... In spite of his shortcomings, least bad by default. |