There have been a plethora of recent articles, here is one, that show that Obama’s internal foreign policy is “Don’t do stupid sh-t.” Of course this has been translated into “Don’t do stupid stuff.” Either way though, DDSS is a weird foreign policy for the world’s sole super power. It is almost impossible not to do stupid sh-t, because no matter the response it can be viewed as stupid sh-t.
Right now there are surplus examples of these stupid decisions, at least from somebody’s point of view. Syria, and the “red line” to start with, and the following retreat from action. The impotent response to Ukraine, as another example. And now the trade of five Taliban leaders for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is seen as a stupid move by some. (I’m still unsure on this. All I know is that it’s a crazy story.)
In Obama’s defense, all presidents have done stupid things, like Iraq, bombing an aspirin factory, vomiting in Japan (not really his fault), Iran Contra, Iran hostage crisis, and the list continues. And even with this list, these are only one for each president of the last 36 years. There are of course many more.
Even though every president has made these mistakes, saying that your policy is DDSS will only lead to making mistakes, because the options were over thought. Most people in this world have talked themselves out of the right action when they think too long. Or just think of the guy that weighs all the outcomes of asking out a girl, but in meantime someone else swoops in and beats him to the punch. Over thinking allows you to say that you tried to mitigate failure, but at the least it is seen as indecision, and at the worst it can cause massive loss of life.
Syria is the best example of this. If we had bombed Assad’s infrastructure, or gave massive military support to the opposition there is a good chance that the opposition would have won, and the war would be over. Or if we and others weren’t supplying just enough for the opposition to keep fighting, there is a good chance that Assad would have won already. But since the first didn’t happen and the second is happening, hundreds of thousands have died, and millions are displaced. If America is trying to help the Syrian people, it would be news to them.
Whatever the choice is, DDSS can only lead to hesitation, and that is stupid sh-t.