Obama continued and expanded Bush’s imperial wars despite softer rhetoric
Evidence
After Obama won the election, he continued Bush’s second-term foreign policy agenda. While he retreated rhetorically from the use of harsh Islamophobic language, in practice he sent thirty thousand more troops to Afghanistan, expanded the war to Pakistan, and tried to alter the Status of Forces Agreement in Iraq so as to not only extend the US occupation but also grant immunity to US troops from Iraqi prosecution. Not only did he carry out far more drone attacks on Afghanistan and Pakistan than his predecessor, he also integrated them into his strategies for Yemen and Somalia. He made a show of demonstrating his loyalty to Israel and failed, like every previous president, to prevent Israeli attacks on Palestinians. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 579
Since taking office, as of this writing, he has deployed thirty thousand more troops to Afghanistan, expanded the war into Pakistan (via the “Af-Pak” strategy), tried to bully Iraq into granting an extension of the US occupation (which failed), carried out drone attacks and “black ops” in Yemen and Somalia, and participated in the NATO war on a former ally in Libya, Muammar Gaddafi. This should not come as a surprise, since his inaugural staff included Bush personnel like defense secretary Bob Gates and General David Petraeus, as well as Democratic Party hawks like Hillary Clinton and Joseph Biden. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 431
Categorization
- XREF: Connects directly to the reader’s guiding question about drawing the line from domestic fear to specific wars/policies. Echoes the argument in Rana’s work on how ‘terror’ discourse persists across presidencies. — connects to: Islamophobia persisted equally under Obama and Bush administrations. — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 311; Obama’s presidency mutated and advanced rather than ended the war on terror — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 329; Both Bush and Obama demanded Muslims police their own communities — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 339 (+12 more)
- corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 579; Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 431
Broader Connections
- Obama extended and codified Bush’s counterterrorism powers over US citizens
#corroborates(0.85) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 581 - Obama’s defense guidance continued the War on Terror via drones and special forces
#corroborates(0.80) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 433 - Human rights and democracy discourse replaced older imperial justifications for war
#expands(0.60) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 403