That, of course, is a debatable proposition. What isn’t debatable is that the humanitarian impulse to impugn and assail this beleaguered dictator certainly didn’t serve to lessen the carnage in Syria, or help America in its fight against ISIS, or inhibit the crosscurrents of national and sectarian strife in the region. Obama didn’t embrace humanitarian interventionism to the extent of getting America committed to military action in that tragic land, but his insipid leadership, based on the humanitarian impulse, foreclosed prospects for effective diplomacy.

It’s worth noting, though, that Hillary Clinton doesn’t seem to share Obama’s hesitancy. She is a full-fledged humanitarian interventionist, in the mold of Senator McCain, and her election likely will mean a much more aggressive approach to that grim and excruciating conundrum.

Robert W. Merry is a contributing editor at the National Interest and an author of books on American history and foreign policy.

Image: President Barack Obama talks on the phone in the Oval Office. Flickr/The White House