Obama's Foreign Policy Shortcomings

When Attorney General Eric Holder says that the Islamic State that has taken root in Iraq and Syria poses a "deadly" threat, and that he has "extreme, extreme concern" about its bomb-makers, that sounds like an emergency. Yet the Obama administration hasn't settled on a coordinated, aggressive response that might prevent this inferno from spreading. The delay in framing a credible plan for stopping the Islamic State is part of a larger worry about President Obama's foreign policy. Even when this White House has good basic strategies, there is too often a lack of follow-through to coordinate the tools of national power. There is no prize for good intentions here. Performance is what matters. That's as true of America's relations with traditional allies, such as Germany and Saudi Arabia, as it is of combating adversaries.