Book review: a second-term Obama could shed his political inhibitions and make a real step away from the failures of the War on Terror

During his presidential campaign, Barack Obama promised to distance the United States from the neoconservative foreign policy legacy of his predecessor, George W. Bush, and usher in a new era of a global, interconnected world. Years have passed since his inauguration, and the reality of President Obama’s approach is in stark contrast to the ebullient and optimistic image that he originally built up, argues Fawaz Gerges, in his recent book. Reviewed by Corinna Mullin. Obama and the Middle East. Fawaz Gerges. Palgrave Macmillan. June 2012.