Bin Laden Killing Doesn’t Change Foreign Policy

The killing of Osama bin Laden gives President Barack Obama some political cover from criticism that he has pursued a weak foreign policy. But it’s unlikely to herald a major shift in the policy itself, Politico reports.

“Among the [many] ways the killing of Osama bin Laden helps President Obama politically is that it acts as a significant circuit breaker,” writes Peter Wehner, a former aide to President George W. Bush. “The specter of Jimmy Carter was beginning to haunt the Obama administration. For now, at least, that narrative is stopped in its tracks.”

The bin Laden killing “gives Obama an opportunity to change the narrative. The question is will he take it?” said Elliott Abrams, a top foreign policy official in the George W. Bush administration. “He made a tough decision. Will he make other tough decisions now or continue to dither over Libya and remain silent over Syria?”