Obama's intelligence surplus

It is true the US needs more investment in intelligence especially vis-à-vis the asymmetrical threats of our times. But from a broader perspective, there is a larger epidemic: intellectual deficit among many decision makers on how to deal with a changing world.

In this sense, after almost a year's performance, I would give President Barack Obama high marks. And frequent remarks by former Vice President Dick Cheney, criticizing Obama for being too soft and indifferent in national security, only bolster my impression regarding the intellectual deficit among the ranks of the opposition.

In the dangerously simplistic intellectual universe of people such as Cheney, you are either in an all-out war or complete peace. The world is sharply divided between an axes of evil and good. And consequently, everybody should be “either with us, or against us.” We saw the detrimental consequences of such poor thinking to US interests and its image in the world during the eight-year tenure of the Bush-Cheney twosome.

On the other hand, sophisticated minds like Obama's tend to see things from a multidimensional perspective. His Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech was marked by an excellent blend of realism and idealism on issues of war and peace. Evident from his self-criticism regarding the US, there is no fixed axes of evil and good in his eyes. And instead of sharply categorizing other nations and forcing them to choose absolute sides, he thinks relations must be built on mutual respect. Obama's approach of unclenching the fist, the conditions of which were formulated in his inaugural speech, can contribute to the resolution of conflicts through engagement and diplomacy, more than waging unnecessary wars, especially preemptively.

The American national security debate largely involves Islam and the Muslim world, which represent the most serious areas of tension in current US foreign policy. President Obama's speech in the Turkish Parliament last April and subsequent Cairo address exclusively designed to send a message to the Muslim world set the right tone. His views reflect a generally good grasp of the situation. However, no matter how appealing Obama's respectful approach might be for many Muslims, it would be naïve to believe their resistance will fade and that the US will be completely embraced over time unless conditions on the ground change.

Most of the extremism of Muslim origin, where religion and nationalism are used as a vehicle, is fueled by uneasiness about the dominant role of the US, which reminds people of the history of Western colonialism in the region. Close American ties with many authoritarian regimes and the US military presence on Muslim soil continue to a large extent. All these factors create a breeding ground for extremist and terrorist movements.

Since the US will also not be going away soon due to its established interests, tension will continue for the foreseeable future. Even the positive appeals to Muslim hearts and minds on the part of the US are seen by many as a tactical component of a larger operation of colonialist dominance.

Under these circumstances, the most reasonable path for the US is knowing its limits, cutting back from maximalist aims and acting as modestly as possible while pursuing its interests. The American public's expectations should not be raised too much because that only adds extra stress to foreign policy. Obama's West Point speech in December when he declared his new Afghanistan war strategy hit the nail on the head in this respect. He talked about the high cost of pursuing over-aggressive policies even for the world's super power.

Being muscular or always having clenched fists does not necessarily prove the strength of a leader or a government. I believe President Obama is stronger than many who do that, such as Cheney, because he has the intellectual muscle that enables him to say and do reasonable things for his country without resorting to cheap nationalist rhetoric. Hopefully his surplus of intelligence might help fill some deficits in US foreign policy.

I don't claim that Obama is a miracle maker. He will certainly make his own human mistakes and will be unable to change things radically. During a town hall meeting in April with Turkish teenagers in İstanbul he was asked what his core difference would be from Bush. He replied: “Moving the ship of state is a slow process. States are like big tankers, they're not like speedboats. You can't just whip them around and go in a new direction. Instead you've got to slowly move it and then eventually you end up in a very different place.”

America must be confident and proud of having a leader like Obama. And the world, including the Muslims, should not take it for granted. So far, I am personally glad he's the captain.