Obama's foreign policy legacy in three quotes

After the Bush administration, many believed that President Obama would bring stability to the global order with a fusion of eloquent rhetoric, a preference for multilateralism and a cautious approach to exercising the politico-military capabilities of the world’s sole superpower. For little more than that promise, it seems, Obama would be awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. Fast-forward to the end of the Obama era and the global security environment is more volatile than it has been in decades: Russian influence is surging in the Middle East and Europe, wars ravage civilian populations in Syria, Yemen and Iraq, waves of migrants are straining EU unity, while the jihadist threat has metastasised. It’s a legacy, fairly or otherwise, that may come to be defined by three quotes.

Jihadist Threat in 2017

In the first week of the new year, ISIS’s online magazine Rumiyah’s fifth issue again instructed Western supporters to attack at home. In the same week, ISIS claimed responsibility for terrorist attacks in Istanbul and Baghdad, and car bombers led the organisation’s ongoing defence of Mosul. Meanwhile, Al-Qaeda’s Ayman Al-Zawahiri reminded the world that while attacking America and its allies is still a “top priority”, Al-Qaeda-ISIS tensions remain high. So what can we expect from the rest of the year?

ISIS: Assessing Rumiyah

The propaganda released by ISIS since late 2015 provides a fascinating case study of how a group in politico-military decline uses messaging to coax friends and foes into fixating upon and exaggerating their strengths while ignoring, dismissing or reframing their failures.

How ISIS Weaponized the Media After Orlando

In the space of minutes, Omar Mateen transformed from an “ordinary” mass shooter into a global terrorist.