Before he took office in 2008, Barack Obama vowed to end America’s grueling conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. During his second term, he pledged to take the country off what he called a permanent war footing.
But Obama leaves a very different legacy...
...
the U.S. faces more threats in more places than at any time since the Cold War, according to U.S. intelligence.
In August 2012, Obama publicly warned that President Bashar Assad would cross a “red line” if his forces used chemical weapons against rebels seeking his ouster.
A year later, when poison gas attacks killed hundreds in rebel-held areas of Damascus, Obama faced a decision: Make good on his implied threat and launch cruise missiles and bombers against Syria’s government and military? Or back down to keep America out of a civil war?
...he hit the brakes.
The news stunned the group. Secretary of State John F. Kerry had been so confident Obama was about to launch the missiles that he’d given a speech that day at the State Department, implying an attack on Assad was on the way.
President Obama, who hoped to sow peace, instead led the nation in war - Los Angeles Times
