The Long Game

May 16, 2016
Chollet (coauthor of America Between the Wars), a “card-carrying member” of “Washington’s foreign policy establishment” and former Obama Administration staffer, sets out a lucid but not wholly persuasive case for the president’s foreign policy. Identifying a paradox where right-wing critics see Obama as weak and left-wing critics see him as overbearing, Chollet contextualizes the foreign affairs environment that the president inherited, describes his early diplomatic actions, takes the reader through a series of recent international incidents (Syria’s use of chemical weapons, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Iran’s nuclear program, the rise of ISIS), and makes a checklist of qualities of Obama’s “long game,” including precision, restraint, and balance. Chollet only intermittently describes his own experiences, primarily taking an analytical approach. To supplement his memory and support his case, he pulls from the memoirs and speeches of Obama and his cabinet (most notably Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates) and analysis from recent articles in the popular press. Chollet provides cursory admissions of mistakes and alternative approaches but never thoroughly engages with criticisms or examines controversial aspects of Obama’s approach, such as the increased reliance on drone strikes. The conclusions feel like a predetermined defense of Obama against his critics.

May 15, 2016
A measured insider's account of President Barack Obama's foreign policy, arguing that the very aspects that bring conservative derision represent subtle, long-term strengths.Chollet (co-author: The Unquiet American: Richard Holbrooke in the World, 2011, etc.), who served Obama for six years in positions including assistant secretary of defense for International Security Affairs, relies on his heavyweight credentials and personal perspective in a spirited, thoughtful defense of how Obama responded to both George W. Bush's missteps and the spiraling chaos that has greeted his own goals. He argues that the cool, cerebral Obama has pursued an oft-misunderstood "long game," relying on long-term planning that has minimized the risks of Iraq-style quagmires. "Obama is like a foreign policy version of Warren Buffett," writes the author, "a profoundly pragmatic value investor." Like a tycoon's discreet adviser, Chollet positions himself as a defender of Obama's ambitions, portrayed as feckless by those for whom "the answer is almost always for the US to do more of something and to act 'tough.' " Aptly, the author begins with the "red line" crisis presented by Syria's chemical weapons; Obama was called weak for a restraint that led to the repressive regime relinquishing those munitions. Chollet then looks backward, arguing that Democrats felt a mandate in 2008 to remake foreign policy in line with Obama's broader advocacy of change: "The ascendance of the Bush/Cheney foreign policy was a key impetus behind Obama's rise." Yet despite Obama's mandate to take a leaner approach to fighting terrorism while resolving conflicts in the Middle East, cascading crises in Libya and Egypt and the rise of the Islamic State group seemingly point out the limitations of Obama's long-distance planning. As Chollet avers, "for Obama, the greatest threat that ISIS poses is that in responding to it, we lose sight of the Long Game." With respect to Vladimir Putin's aggressive Russia, the author notes, "Obama's alleged 'weakness' did not drive Putin's aggression." A cogent, detailed policy review, effectively studded with first-person recollections, that probably won't sway Obama's conservative critics.

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June 15, 2016

The titular "long game" refers to President Barack Obama's foreign policy, one based on prudently and strategically taking into account eight criteria (balance, sustainability, restraint, precision, patience, fallibility, skepticism, and exceptionalism) in order to make thoughtful relationship-repairing decisions for the United States in the world political arena. Who better to comprehend fully the president's tactics than Chollet (The Road to the Dayton Accords: A Study of American Statecraft), who has held high-level positions in Obama's administration, including jobs at the White House, the U.S. State Department, and the Pentagon. While many criticize Obama's foreign policy as being weak, Chollet argues that the long game is about using America's power and tools "to bring countries together to shape outcomes, set agendas, and address these problems in a sustainable way." In a world of sound bites, one of the greatest challenges has been about overcoming snap judgments and ongoing combativeness from conservative opponents and insisting on adhering to the content within the long game policy tenets. VERDICT Chollett's relevant, extensive history of how foreign policy decisions have been handled both by President Obama and his predecessors in political hotspots around the globe will garner wide appeal.--Krista Bush, Shelton, CT

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