 obama foreign policy armen kharazian january 20 2009 washington 1 the obama administration has pledged to conduct a strong but consultative foreign policy driven by both principles and pragmatism and aimed at restoring us leadership reputation and influence on the world stage 2 the new administration has demonstrated a strong understanding of the centrality of the global security and development agenda to the success of american foreign policy it supports the strengthening of the nonproliferation treaty npt the ratification of the comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty ctbt and renewed negotiations on the fissile materials cutoff treaty fmct it also supports active us involvement in international efforts to address global climate change and has pledged to make every effort to ensure the success of this year s principal event in that regard the climate conference in copenhagen denmark in december 2009 3 there is strong bipartisan support in washington for the extension of the strategic arms reduction treaty starti with russia starti is the cornerstone of the us russian strategic relationship and a central element in the global security and stability architecture the treaty is due to expire on december 5 2009 the obama administration has publicly affirmed its strong interest in extending the treaty regardless of any disagreements with russia on other issues of mutual interest or concern russia however has linked that prospect with us plans for missile defense infrastructure in europe and nato enlargement issues on which it expects the us to take positions that better address russian concerns interestingly neither issue came up during the confirmation hearing last week in the senate foreign relations committee for secretary of statenominee hillary clinton a sign that the administration may well be consciously avoiding issues and probably also action that might jeopardize any forthcoming us effort to work with the russians on strategic arms control along with extending start the administration has is also interested in working with russia towards further reductions with initial target levels as low as 1000 accountable warheads each a us russian understanding on the extension of start and its further development might have a profound impact on european and eurasian security affairs particularly as regards missile defense and nato enlargement early contours of any such understanding should to be expected to emerge around julyaugust 2009 4 the new administration is willing to engage in direct diplomatic dialogue with iran to address concerns with respect to both proliferation and regional security a successful effort with iran might facilitate prospects for peace between israel and its neighbors also having a positive effect on us strategy in iraq and afghanistan leading members of the democratic party have encouraged the administration to think about the interconnectedness of these issues and seek comprehensive solutions to them it has been suggested that the administration is considering the possible opening of a us interests section in tehran and accreditation of an ambassador to damascus in addition members of the administration have acknowledged that there is a policy review underway presently regarding iran 5 energy security particularly us dependence on foreign oil and europe s gas supplies stands very high on the obama administration list of foreign policy priorities there are plans to establish a special energy security coordinator position within the state department with broad mandate compared to similar offices in the past that were established to deal with specific regional or infrastructure issues the administration looks forward to actively participating in the americas summit in trinidad in april 2009 with focus on partnerships in energy and technologies taking that event as an opportunity to work on solutions for stability and security in the western hemisphere considering that participants in the summit will also include brazil and venezuela the meeting in trinidad may have important implications for world energy affairs speaking of new policy initiatives in the western hemisphere it is also important that the new administration is considering easing certain restrictions on cuba which too will contribute to the hemispheric stability and development 6 overcoming global economic crisis and reforming the international financial system and institutions shall be a critical priority for the administration a principal opportunity in that regard will arise at the g20 world s 20 largest economies summit in london on april 2 2009 where the us will be working inter alia with russia china brazil and india to address the crisis and promote consensus on the reform of the international financial system 7 counterterrorism the situation in iraq and afghanistan and relations with pakistan are central to the administration s foreign policy and its success the new us leadership has reaffirmed adherence to the status of forces agreement sofa with iraq and its civilian counterpart the agreement on friendship and cooperation between the us and iraq and intends to start the withdrawal of combat units from population centers in iraq in july the normalization of the situation in iraq however will also depend on the success of confessional and interethnic dialogue in the country and cooperation from iraq s neighbors particularly iran and syria as well as regionwide efforts towards deescalation and greater stability in the middle east as for pakistan and afghanistan the new us leadership views these countries as the central theater for its counterterrorism effort and has pledged to work towards developing a more systemic response to the challenges that theater presents there are reviews pending on us policy regarding pakistan and afghanistan as well as sudan in africa and one must expect that in the coming weeks a better articulated policy will emerge as a result of these reviews with respect to each theater and the region as a whole 8 from the first day in office the administration has vowed to make an urgent and insistent effort towards restoring the us commitment to and leadership in helping resolve the arabisraeli conflict a deficit in such effort has seriously undermined the us national interest in the last few years in the region and beyond this is likely to be the most formidable foreign policy challenge the obama administration will face with no easy solutions but also no lack of understanding of the crucial importance of a consistent determined us pursuit of such solutions as one of his first executive orders the president is expected to announce the appointment of a highprofile presidential envoy to jumpstart us peace diplomacy in the middle east in earnest 9 the administration shall seek to renew and further develop relations with europe both traditional allies and new democracies working within the nato framework bilaterally as well as with the european union washington views these relations along with relations with its traditional allies in asia japan south korea and australia as the linchpin of its global diplomatic and security leadership and a source of strategic us power in the world 10 finally in the next few years another important dimension of american foreign policy will evolve around the administration s effort to secure increased funding for the state department expand its role in the us national security and interagency process and carry out a reform of us foreign assistance strategy enhancing the role of the usaid and better integrating the concept of development with traditional diplomacy to increase the effectiveness of us foreign policy and adapt it to modern needs 11 presently almost all principal aspects of us foreign policy are undergoing some form of review and may incur changes in the process in addition the administration s new or enhanced policy initiatives will need budgetary justification and support and can further be identified once the administration submits its new budget proposals in that sense the next few months will be transitional but very important in the evolution of the principal parameters of the obama foreign policy  