Special to WorldTribune.com

By John J. Metzler

UNITED NATIONS — Proclaiming an end to the American economic recession and declaring that “the shadow of crisis is past,” President Barack Obama addressed a skeptical Republican-controlled Congress in the annual State of the Union Address. Yet the same speech offered a fuzzy view of key foreign policy challenges and, more importantly, no plan on solving other vital concerns.

As is typical in such aspirational speeches, there is a laundry list of proposals, a broad brush view of wider policy initiatives, a pandering to interest groups, but a quiet realization that realistically few of the initiatives will get beyond this prime time pitch. After being trounced in last November’s mid-term Congressional elections, President Obama is also acting with the political handicap of being a lame- duck president, serving his last two years in office.

Terrorism: “First we stand united with people around the world who have been targeted by terrorists — from a school in Pakistan to the streets of Paris, “ Obama stated without a necessary mention of Nigeria. While adding, “We continue to hunt down terrorists and dismantle their networks,” he did not proclaim, as he did in the past, that Al Qaida terrorists have been “substantially defeated or degraded.” I guess the Libyan, Yemeni, and Syrian crises beg to differ with his earlier optimism.

Iraq/Syria: Significantly while stating that the U.S. is using military power against ISIS in Iraq and Syria (they were not even on the Administration’s radar screen last year being described as Junior Varsity), now Obama conceded the battle against this new head of the terror Hydra “will take time, it will require focus, but we will succeed.” Thus he has called upon Congress to pass a resolution to “authorize the use of force against ISIL. We need that authority.”

The President is right but late. When American air operations began anew in Iraq and Syria last August, the Administration acted without the consent of Congress. The War Powers Act of 1973 demands that the President seek Congressional approval within 60 days. This legal deadline past last October.

Bruce Ackerman, constitutional scholar and Professor of Law at Yale, in an earlier op-ed in the New York Times, “Obama’s Betrayal of the Constitution,” stressed the importance of Congressional authorization for ongoing military actions against ISIS.

Ukraine: Regarding Ukraine, Obama stated the U.S. is “opposing Russian aggression, and supporting Ukraine’s democracy, and reassuring our NATO allies.” He added, “Today it is America that stands strong and united with our allies, while Russia is isolated with its economy in tatters.” True, but Washington’s relations with Moscow have now dangerously reverted to a Cold War-lite freeze. Was the once trumpeted “Reset with Russia” a policy Potemkin Village?

In a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine the day after Obama’s speech, American UN Ambassador Samantha Power conceded the “current situation is dangerous.” She added, “Russia chooses the path of escalation and obfuscation, ” in its support of separatists fighting the Kiev government.

Trade Policy: Regarding trade policy the President proclaimed, “China wants to write the rules for the world’s fastest-growing region. That would put our workers and our business at a disadvantage…We should write those rules. We should level the playing field.” He then called for Congress to give him trade promotion authority for new trade deals with Asia and Europe “that aren’t just free, but are also fair.” There’s plenty room for bi-partisan compromise and support here.

There was passing mention of the dangerous “maritime disputes” in the Asia/ Pacific region, but no reaffirmation of his Administration’s strategic Pacific pivot.

Keystone: Yet when it came to the proposed Keystone-XL petroleum pipeline running from Canada to American Gulf ports, Obama’s condescension was glaring. In a rhetorical sideswipe and push for massive infrastructure spending, Obama declared, “let’s set our sights higher than a single pipeline.”

The Administration’s political stalling and punting on the Keystone pipeline has been an irritant in U.S./Canadian relations and a loss for American construction jobs.

Interestingly, according to the Neilson ratings, the speech drew the smallest TV audience for such an event in the past fifteen years.

But key foreign policy issues lurk on the horizon; do we keep negotiating over Iran’s nuclear program while the clock ticks and Tehran’s mullahs stall for time; do we accept a new relationship with Cuba while forgetting the Castro brothers backstory; do we look to close Guantanamo prison for the political optics only to reap the whirlwind of former inmates returning to haunt us?

The choice is America’s. The consequences could be global.

John J. Metzler is a U.N. correspondent covering diplomatic and defense issues. He writes weekly for WorldTribune.com. He is the author of “Divided Dynamism The Diplomacy of Separated Nations; Germany; Korea, China”, 2014