Obamas Final UN Address

A Nation Ringed by Walls Would Only Imprison Itself by Column

Lynch & John Hudson Foreign Policy Sept 20th, 2016
In his final U.N. address, President Obama pleads with world leaders
to keep global borders, markets, and minds open.
President Barack Obama used the pulpit of his last speech before the United
Nations to make an impassioned plea for an open world order, even as walls
rise against refugees, protectionism makes a comeback, and the West faces
the prospect of a simmering cold war with Russia and other authoritarian
states.
The address represented a rallying cry for beleaguered democratic, pro-trade
governments to promote the values of human rights and free markets.
Obama also explicitly rejected the politics of isolationism, demagoguery, and
nationalism that have gained political traction from the American heartland
to Moscow.
There appears to be a growing contest between authoritarianism and
liberalism right now, and I want everybody to understand I am not neutral
in that contest. I believe in a liberal political order, Obama said. So those of
us who believe in democracy, we need to speak out forcefully.
The U.S. president took aim at plenty of targets during his speech but trained
a sharp burst of rhetorical fire on a country that has, in the course of his own
administration, become Washingtons international nemesis and, at best,
awkward diplomatic dance partner Vladimir Putins Russia. He specifically
rebuked Russia for intimidating its neighbors and using military might to
shape the future of its growing sphere of influence.
Obama argued that Russias military interventions from Syria, where it is
shoring up President Bashar al-Assads government, to Ukraine, where
Russian-backed rebels seized control of Crimea and continue to challenge a
Western-backed government in Kiev are unsustainable over the long haul.
In a world that left the age of empire behind, we see Russia attempting to
recover lost glory through force, Obama told the U.N. gathering as Russian
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and other top Russian diplomats listened from
the floor. If Russia continues to interfere in the affairs of its neighbors, it
may be popular at home, it may fuel nationalist fervor for a time, but over
time it is also going to diminish its stature and make its borders less secure.
Obama also took a swipe at China, which has erected an archipelago of
military installations on disputed islands in the South China Sea. He said a
peaceful resolution of Chinas territorial dispute will mean far greater

stability than militarization in the region. Obama also challenged China to

ensure that its troublesome client, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, pays a
price for his recent test of a nuclear explosive, a flagrant violation of multiple
Security Council resolutions that China has supported. When North Korea
tests a bomb, that endangers all of us. And any country that breaks this
basic bargain must face consequences, he said.
Hours after Obamas speech, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Turkeys
democratically elected, though increasingly authoritarian, leader delivered
his first address to the international community since a failed coup attempt
in July. Erdogan implored world leaders to crack down on Fethullah Gulen, the
Muslim cleric accused of orchestrating the coup from his self-imposed exile in
Pennsylvania. If you do not fight against [Gulens organization] now, it may
be too late, he said.
Obamas speech also served up a blunt rejection of growing calls for sealing
national borders, including Republican presidential nominee Donald Trumps
proposal for a beautiful wall along the U.S. southern border to keep out
foreigners from Mexico and elsewhere.
Today, a nation ringed by walls would only imprison itself, Obama said. So
the answer cannot be a simple rejection of global integration. Instead, we
must work together to make sure the benefits of such integration are
squarely addressed.
That included a now familiar endorsement of free trade, which Obama hailed
as a necessary component for a more prosperous and peaceful world. He
described trade wars, protectionism, and tariff hikes as failed models of
the past and reiterated his pitch for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a
massive trade agreement among 12 Pacific Rim countries awaiting
ratification by signatories.
But even in Washingtons political climate, Obamas free trade message has
become increasingly isolated. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary
Clinton has disowned the trade pact, despite her vocal support for it as
Obamas secretary of state; so has progressive firebrand Sen. Bernie Sanders
(I-Vt.), who challenged her for the nomination. Trump calls the trade pact,
which would link together about 40 percent of the global economy, one of
the worst deals ever forged.
Yet Obama sounded an uncharacteristically populist note in his speech,
highlighting the need for the worlds wealthiest to strike a fairer bargain with
the worlds workers. A world in which 1 percent of humanity controls as
much wealth as the other 99 percent will never be stable, the U.S. president
told the gathering of foreign leaders. A society that asks less of oligarchs
than ordinary citizens will rot from within.

Although part of Obamas speech centered on his forward-looking policy

goals, he also sought to burnish his presidential legacy on the world stage.
He noted that the meltdown of the global financial system, which nearly
collapsed during the final years of George W. Bushs administration, was
stabilized under his watch. He cited landmark diplomatic agreements with
Cuba, resulting in restored relations, and Iran, where sanctions relief was
traded for the restriction of Tehrans nuclear program. He also pointed to
Washingtons role in supporting peace talks that ended Latin Americas
longest civil war in Colombia.
Obama traversed a range of pressing issues he still hopes to tackle before he
steps down in January, singling out the need to secure commitments from
governments to make binding the Paris climate pact, an accord to rein in
greenhouse gas emissions.
If we dont act boldly, the bill that could come due will be mass migrations
and cities submerged and nations displaced and food supplies decimated
and conflicts born of despair, he warned.
But Obama struck a fatalistic note over the prospects of restoring peace in
the Middle East, where leaders have demonized rival sects, persecuted
political opponents, and tolerated the perversion of Islam. [Such forces] are
now at work helping to fuel both Syrias tragic civil war and the mindless,
medieval menace of ISIL, he said, referring to the Islamic State.
If we are honest, we understand that no external power is going to be able
to force different religious communities or ethnic communities to coexist for
long, Obama said.
In the meantime, Obama said the United States and its coalition partners will
continue to undertake a united and relentless military campaign against
the Islamic State in Syria. Beyond that, Washington will limit its action to
pressing for an elusive diplomatic settlement to the conflict while working to
deliver assistance to those in need. The recent breakdown in the Syrian
cease-fire, however, has raised doubts over the viability of such a plan.