Yemen has become a thorn in Obama's side, further criticizing his foreign policy--especially coming after his defiant State of the Union address.
"It's certainly the fairest critique of that speech is how much he diminished the lingering threat," Politico’s Jim Vandehei said. "It’s dangerous politics."
Houthi rebels in Yemen have taken over the capital and reportedly struck a deal with President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi after holding him captive. After what at first appeared to be a coup, the Houthi rebels forced the president to give them representation in Parliament and amend Yemen’s constitution.
The violence comes after the president said, "This strategy of taking out terrorists who threaten us while supporting partners on the front lines is one that we have successfully pursued in Yemen and Somalia for years."
The president held Yemen as an example of his foreign policy strategy at work. Now, Yemen looks like a failed state.
"We've lost essentially any sort of a partner in the global effort against terrorism here. This is a serious piece of bad news," Richard Haas said.
Obama said that terrorist organizations were on the run, and that America is no longer at war like it once was with under Bush. He claimed that he had succeeded, highlighting troops coming home from Afghanistan. Obama has faced criticism from all sides of the political spectrum for ignoring the reality of global unrest.
"The president keeps providing these quotes that keeps suggesting he may either be out of touch with the war on terror or he may just wish it didn't exist," Joe Scarborough said on MSNBC’s Morning Joe this morning.
Yemen is looking like Obama’s Mission Accomplished moment.