Obama's Foreign Policy Legacy: Navigating Iraq And Afghanistan's Complex Terrain

Barack Obama inherited two wars when he took office: one in Iraq and the other in Afghanistan. During his 2008 election campaign, Obama promised to withdraw American troops from Iraq as soon as possible. In February 2009, he announced a plan to bring troop levels down from 160,000 to 50,000 by August 2010, with the remaining troops to be withdrawn by the end of 2011. Obama also pledged to step up the US military commitment in Afghanistan to keep the extremist Taliban regime from regaining power. In his first few years in office, Obama increased the number of US troops in Afghanistan, from 30,000 to 100,000. However, by 2014, Obama had accomplished a complete disengagement of US forces from Afghanistan, at least in terms of active combat.

Obama's decision to increase the US military presence in Afghanistan

During his presidential campaign, Barack Obama had promised to step up the US military commitment in Afghanistan to keep the extremist Taliban regime from regaining power and prevent al Qaeda from using the country as a base of terrorist operations against the United States and its allies. Soon after taking office, Obama granted the military's request to send an additional 21,000 troops to Afghanistan, raising the American military presence there to about 60,000.

The increase in troops was intended to cripple the Taliban, train the Afghan military, and stabilize the Afghan government before withdrawing US forces. However, the Taliban proved to be more resilient than expected, and the US withdrawal timeline had to be adjusted.

In his first few years in office, Obama dramatically ramped up the US presence in Afghanistan, from a little over 30,000 to more than 100,000 troops at its peak in 2011. This increase in troops was part of a strategy to shift the focus of US military efforts from Iraq to Afghanistan.

In February 2009, Obama flew to Camp Lejeune, N.C., and announced his plan for ending the war in Iraq, acknowledging that the war in Iraq had already been a long one. He stated that the troops had "fought against tyranny and disorder" and had "served with honor."

Despite the challenges and adjustments, Obama remained committed to his strategy for Afghanistan, which included training and advising Afghan forces and supporting counter-terrorist operations. By the end of his presidency, Obama left approximately 8,400 US troops in Afghanistan, falling short of his initial promise to withdraw all troops but reflecting the complexities of the situation on the ground.

The withdrawal of US troops from Iraq

The withdrawal proceeded smoothly for several years, in part because Obama was able to build on the gains of President Bush's "surge" of 20,000 additional troops in 2007, which had helped the Iraqi government restore stability to the country. By 2012, only 150 American troops remained in Iraq, a number that remained level for about three years.

However, the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq was not without challenges. In 2014, the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) prompted the US to intervene again, alongside other militaries, to combat the extremist group. This marked a shift in Obama's plans, as he sent fighter jets, bombers, and military advisors back into Iraq.

In 2011, as the US withdrawal was underway, Obama struggled to define what victory in Iraq would look like. He acknowledged that the conflict had been undone by Iraq's sectarian politics, Iranian meddling, his mistakes, and the civil war in neighbouring Syria.

In December 2011, the US military held a ceremony in Baghdad to formally declare the end of its mission in Iraq, and the final US forces departed before the end of the year. However, the US retained a presence in Iraq, with an embassy in Baghdad and consulates in Basra, Mosul, and Kirkuk.

Despite the withdrawal of combat troops, the US continued to face challenges in Iraq. In 2020, tensions rose between the US and Iran, leading to attacks on US troops and diplomatic compounds. In 2024, US forces in Iraq continued to face frequent attacks by Iran-aligned groups, resulting in retaliatory strikes and Iraqi complaints of US aggression.

As of May 2024, there are still about 2,500 US troops deployed in Iraq as part of a coalition formed in 2014 to help defeat ISIL. The future of this deployment remains uncertain, as Iraq has expressed a desire to reduce the US military presence in the country.

The killing of Osama bin Laden

On May 1, 2011, President Barack Obama announced that Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda and mastermind of the September 11 attacks, had been killed by US forces. In a televised address to the nation, Obama revealed that a small team of Americans had carried out the operation with "extraordinary courage and capability", ensuring no American casualties and avoiding civilian deaths.

The operation was the culmination of years of intelligence work and took months of planning. Osama bin Laden had been at the top of the US's "kill or capture" list since the beginning of Obama's presidency, and his death was the most significant achievement in the nation's effort to defeat al-Qaeda.

The use of drones in Pakistan

The Obama administration's use of drones in Pakistan was a highly controversial aspect of its foreign policy. Drone strikes in Pakistan began under the Bush administration but increased substantially under Obama. The Obama administration defended the strikes as a vital component of its war on terror in Pakistan and Afghanistan, arguing that they were precise and effective. However, critics, including human rights groups, Pakistani officials, and UN representatives, argued that the strikes violated Pakistani sovereignty, caused high numbers of civilian casualties, and were counterproductive in the fight against terrorism.

Between 2004 and 2018, the US government attacked thousands of targets in northwest Pakistan using drones operated by the US Air Force and controlled by the CIA. Most of these attacks were in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas along the Afghan border. The number of strikes under Obama was far greater than under Bush—Obama ordered 353 strikes in Pakistan by October 2015, compared to just 48 under Bush.

The Obama administration insisted that drone strikes were "exceptionally surgical and precise" and that they did not put civilians in danger. However, this claim was disputed by human rights groups and journalists, who reported high numbers of civilian casualties. For example, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism estimated that between 2004 and 2018, US drone strikes in Pakistan killed between 2,515 and 4,026 people, including 424 to 969 civilians and 172 to 207 children.

The Pakistani government publicly condemned the strikes, arguing that they violated Pakistani sovereignty and caused "collateral damage". Pakistan's former Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, demanded an end to the strikes, stating that they were "not only a continual violation of our territorial integrity but also detrimental to our resolve and efforts at eliminating terrorism from our country". The Peshawar High Court ruled that the attacks were illegal, inhumane, and a violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

In 2013, the UN's special rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights, Ben Emmerson, stated that drone attacks were carried out without the consent of the Pakistani government and were therefore a violation of Pakistani sovereignty. Emmerson's statement was based on assurances he had received from the Pakistani government, which said it had sent regular protests to the US embassy in Islamabad demanding an end to the strikes.

In response to the criticism, the Obama administration acknowledged for the first time in May 2013 that four US citizens had been killed in drone strikes. In 2015, Obama announced stricter conditions on executing drone strikes, including a plan to shift the program from the CIA to the Pentagon. No drone strike has occurred in Pakistan since December 2013, and in 2014, the drone war was described as "basically over".

The US's role in the Syrian Civil War

The Syrian Civil War began in March 2011, when pro-democracy protests erupted in the southern Syrian city of Daraa. The protests were sparked by the arrest and torture of a group of children who had spray-painted anti-government graffiti on a school wall. Demonstrations spread across the country, and the government responded with force, detaining and killing protesters. In June 2013, the US concluded that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons against the opposition.

The Obama administration initially responded to the conflict by imposing sanctions on the Syrian government and withdrawing US ambassadors and diplomats from Syria. In August 2012, President Obama stated that the use of chemical or biological weapons by the Syrian government would be a "red line" for US involvement in the conflict. On August 21, 2013, the Syrian government was accused of a chemical weapons attack on a town in the suburbs of Damascus, killing hundreds of civilians.

In response to the chemical weapons attack, Obama requested that Congress authorize a limited military strike against the Assad regime. However, before Congress could vote, the US and Russia reached a preliminary agreement requiring Syria to eliminate its chemical weapons by mid-2014. The agreement averted US military action, and the UN Security Council passed a resolution calling for the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons.

Despite the agreement, the Syrian Civil War continued to escalate, drawing in regional powers and resulting in massive displacement. The US provided aid to Syrian refugees and supported the opposition, but its efforts to mediate a political transition were stymied by differences among veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council. In 2014, the rise of the Islamic State (IS) led to the formation of a US-led coalition conducting airstrikes against IS targets in Syria. The US also provided arms and air support to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighting IS.

In 2019, President Trump abruptly announced the withdrawal of US troops from Syria, clearing the way for a Turkish military offensive against the Kurds. The US withdrawal shifted the balance of power in Syria, with the Syrian government, backed by Russia and Iran, regaining control of most of the country. The civil war settled into a stalemate, and diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have been fruitless.

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