Colucci’s published work criticizes Obama’s foreign policy

Lamont Colucci, associate professor and chair of the politics and government department, recently published an opinion piece for U.S. News & World Report. In “Extremists Love a Vacuum,” Colucci expresses his concern that the president’s “half-hearted foreign policy” has allowed Islamic extremism to worsen.

“It is almost exhausting making a list of every location that America has either left or never bothered with,” he writes. “However, one can focus on the single issue of Islamic extremism to illustrate this disaster.”

Colucci criticizes Obama’s hands-off approach with Libya, as an example. “The Obama mentality was illustrated in Libya, where American half-hearted intervention assisted in justifiably removing dictator Moammar Gadhafi, but lack of further involvement allowed parts of the country to fall under the sway of the Islamic State group.” He says this approach with Iraq and Syria allowed the Islamic State group to form there, as well. “America is absent from the field, and the enemy has exploited it fully,” Colucci writes.

He cites Obama’s actions with Ukraine as the most recent fumble. “We are witnessing the deployment of Chechen fighters against the Russians. Ukrainian sources indicated their presence near the city of Mariupol. This might seem merely disturbing from a general perspective, as it illustrates both the chaos and desperation of the Ukrainian government. It is made a bit more salient due to the Boston Marathon bombing enacted by Chechen jihadists.”

Colucci speculates that the Chechen jihadists are connected to the Islamic extremism. Groups of Chechen jihadists have been found beyond Eastern Europe, such as in France, an organization known as “Brothers,” stateless Islamic jihadists with some connection to the Islamic State group.

He says the solution to these problems is stern, aggressive leadership to establish order. “The power vacuum created by the Obama administration is generating a military-diplomatic black hole that will be difficult to reverse.” The full article can be read here.