The Troublesome Future of an Obama Second Term (continued)

16) Iraq: Not a Real Success - I am not sure that if the voting public had been told by a campaigning Barack Obama that there would be a substantial U.S. military force in Iraq throughout the first three years of his presidency that Barack Obama would have been elected president. He had created an impression in the campaign that all the troops would have left Iraq well before three years had passed.

It is also the case that President Obama would not have withdrawn all of the troops by December 31, 2011, if Iraq had agreed to give U.S. forces immunity from the exercise of Iraqi law. The Pentagon wanted to keep at least 3,000 troops in Iraq and maybe as many as 15,000. So what Obama did was withdraw troops in accordance with an agreement drawn up between George W. Bush and the then-existing Iraqi government.

Despite the optimistic talk about creating a democracy in Iraq, virtually every sector of Iraqi life that one wants to seriously examine is in shambles due to the long years of war and occupation.

17) A Dangerous Take on Iran - A second term for President will keep the nation on tenterhooks regarding U.S. military attacks on Iran. Obama has not ruled out use of nuclear weapons if a "red line" is crossed. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on December 2, 2011 that the imminent or actual development of a nuclear bomb by Iran was a "red line" that would trigger an attack by the United States. An attack utilizing nuclear weapons on Iran's deeply buried nuclear facilities could cause as many as three million deaths according to a computer program projection.

Iranian disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz would cause a major spike in oil prices and Iran can cause the United States major grief in many other sorts of ways.

18) The Continued Proliferation of Overseas Military Bases - Except for Iraq, where U.S. bases have been emptied of troops and a possible trimming of bases due to a draw down from Afghanistan, there are no visible plans to reduce the large number of U.S. overseas bases. At least one major base will be added, as 2,500 U.S. Marines will be stationed in Darwin, Australia.

The Pentagon doesn't know how many overseas bases there are. A primary reason for this deficit of information is that many bases are called "lily-pad" due to the small number of troops stationed on them. Most estimates of total bases fall into the range of "over 800" to "over 1,000."

The proposed shift of strategic military interest from the European to the Asia/Pacific theater may result in a wash between bases closed and bases opened.

The 18 topics briefly examined above provide a perspective on what policies President Obama will likely follow in a second term and how they don't represent a major change in direction, which Barack Obama promised would happen if he was elected president. Under Obama we will remain a nation whose major governmental priorities are premised on fear.