That’s an excellent question and one that I’m not qualified to answer but I am really looking forward to seeing what other people here at Fluther think about this question.
I think he will cock it up, As he said he will withdraw the troops. This is wonderful except unfortunately there is no stable government to take the place of the U.S Army. So as soon as the troops withdraw we will have civil war and massacre. It’ll be worse than it is now. I can see this issue being danced around in the future by the white house and until a stable government is installed in Iraq and Afghanistan he shouldn’t touch the troops. Unless of course he wants a second Khmer Rouge.
With all the other problems on his plate, I don’t expect we’ll have a clear answer on this one too soon. He already has a reputation as a uniter versus a divider, and that could only help him in this arena.
It is an absolute impossibility that the Obama administration is even remotely close to being worse than the Bush administration. The ENTIRE world despises the USA right now, and quite frankly anyone would be an improvement. The fact that Obama is an inteligent leader that seeks the input from individuals with direct experience in the fields in question has already afforded the US a significant improvement in foreign relations with all countries.