• Russia props up Assad, no mention of Russia fighting ISIS
  • Ignored Russian allegations against Turkey-ISIS oil smuggling
  • Blamed Ukraine crisis on Russia instead of US coup d’état
  • Americans cynical of Obama’s versions of Russia and the Middle East

US President Barack Obama’s last State of the Union (SOTU) address was a “shallow attempt” to fabricate an acceptable foreign policy record through ignoring well-established facts, says a former US Army psychological warfare officer, Scott Bennett. Obama delivered his last SOTU on Tuesday, trying to sell optimism to a frustrated nation. The American president’s speech came as he still has one full year in the White House.

The 44th US president sought to paint a hopeful portrait of America with a recovering economy and better standing in the world, while trying to contrast the Republicans’ grim assessment of the state of the nation with his own optimism. Laying out his vision for America’s future, Obama said economic opportunity, security and peace were within reach, but “will only happen if we fix our politics.”

“It didn’t look like a presidential address, it looked like someone at a toastmasters’ convention cheering his son who just graduated high school,” Scott Bennett told Press TV on Wednesday. The former US Army psychological warfare officer said that Obama gave a “standard” speech in terms of social policy by raising points that have always been hailed by the Democratic Party as their domestic victories.

The part about his foreign policy, however, was questionable as he selectively pointed out what he desired, such as Russia’s military support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and left out many important points, Bennett noted. “He goes on to label Russia as going into Syria to prop up Assad, not to fight ISIS (Daesh), not to fight Wahhabi terrorism that is infecting the Middle East with beheadings and rapings, but blaming Russia for going into Syria simply to prop up Assad,” he explained, using an alternative acronym for the terror organization. Russia has been providing military support to Syria since late September last year upon a request from Damascus.

Bennett said that Obama purposely ignored substantiated Russian allegations against Turkey, accusing Ankara of smuggling Syrian oil stolen by Daesh Takfiri terrorists; a claim that has also been reiterated by Iraqi and Turk officials. Bennett also criticized Obama for his stance on Ukraine crisis blaming Russia for tensions there while in reality, it was the White House fanning the flames there.

“He mentioned that Russians were trying to destabilize Ukraine from it ‘democracy dream,’ not that the United States went into Ukraine and facilitated a coup d’état and threw out the democratically elected president of Ukraine in exchange for right-wing fascists that have waged civil war in Ukraine,” he explained. The counter-terrorism analyst also blasted Obama for his policies regarding Europe, Africa and even the Middle East which, according to Bennett, are designed to benefit the military-industrial complex in the US.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Bennett said that the American public is cynical of Obama’s statements concerning Russia and the Middle East in general. “I think at the same time the American citizens are not buying it, they are not siding with Obama’s blaming Russia for destabilizing the Middle East, or propping up Assad,” he argued.