Obama frames his discussion of international diplomacy, defense strategy, and world affairs with an account of his own experience living abroad in Indonesia, where he resided with his mother and Indonesian stepfather for long stretches of his childhood. He contends that many Americans are unjustifiably cut off from international affairs, having been lulled into a sense of complacency and isolationism by decades in which only the slow-moving brinksmanship of the superpowers engaged in the Cold War was regarded as highly significant. Obama believes that the United States’ defense budget and military strategy has not fully adapted to the emerging state of world affairs. He proposes affording more responsibility in international policing efforts to our allies, and he strongly asserts the need for multilateralism and cooperation in future military efforts. AlthoughObama supported unilateral action in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, he argues that the prosecution of the Iraq war has been poorly handled.
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