Obama's worst mistake intervening in domestic affairs of other countries

Sept. 9, 2011 - Washington, DC, USA - US President Barack Obama talks with Libyan Ambassador Ali Suleiman Aujali and his family September 9, 2011 during an Ambassador Credentialing Ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House.[Photo/IC]

US president Barack Obama said on Sunday the worst mistake of his presidency was "a lack of planning" for the aftermath of the 2011 toppling of Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi. People's Daily Overseas Edition commented on Wednesday:

Despite viewing Libya today as a "mess" and accusing his European allies, including British Prime Minister David Cameron and former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, of being "distracted by a range of other things" after the operation, Obama still insisted that intervening in Libya had been "the right thing to do".

In Syria, too, the actions of the US and its Western allies caused the Bashar Assad administration to lose control of large swathes of its land by imposing economic sanctions on and diplomatically isolating the country.

The endless chaos, in turn, has not only resulted in the deaths of over 100,000 Syrians, but also forced millions to flee their homes and many to seek asylum in Europe.

True, in comparison with his predecessor George W. Bush, Obama has been more prudent when it comes to the use of military power, and more willing to deal with the Middle East issues. However, his efforts have failed, and instead escalated tensions in the region, allowing the Islamic State group to expand its territory in Syria and Iraq and launch attacks on some European cities.

Under the name of "safeguarding global security" and "promoting democracy", Washington has never given up interfering in other countries' domestic affairs. Given its dominant military might and ability to mobilize international support, it has always been easy for the US to oust leaders it didn't like, but not so easy for it to restore peace and stability afterwards.

Its China policy is hardly better, as it still refuses to correct its erroneous stance on the Taiwan question and South China Sea issue, which is injecting more uncertainties into the bilateral ties. It is time for Washington to reflect upon its previous mistakes and avoid repeating them in the years to come.