SOTU: 1 Out of 5 On Foreign Policy

James Carafano /

Before the State of the Union address, Heritage Foundation scholars laid out five foreign policy and national security commitments that needed to be in the speech. The President scored about 1 out of 5. The speech did nothing to dispel concerns that the Obama Doctrine just does not make the grade.

  1. A Commitment to Peace and Prosperity Through Strength. Grade: “0.” The President’s call for a federal spending freeze did not include “security.” The problem is that the White House’s five-year budget forecast already calls for cuts (in constant dollars) for core defense programs. Furthermore, Heritage estimates that the Pentagon is already under-funding what is needed to replace, upgrade, or repair existing equipment. To make the grade, Obama needed to call for defense budgets that average $720 billion per year (adjusted for inflation) for each of the next five fiscal years in addition to the funding needed for ongoing contingency operations. At the same time, he had to pledge to reduce the overall budget by at least $170 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2012. Furthermore, the President’s commitment to real defense reforms and efficiencies rings completely false. “The Secretary of Defense,” Obama asserted, “has also agreed to cut tens of billions of dollars in spending that he and his generals believe our military can do without.” (more…)