At the United Nations Climate Summit last week, President Barack Obama challenged China to make serious efforts in the fight against climate change.  It seems that his challenge may have fallen on deaf ears.  According to a report from Fox News on Wednesday, a document deposited to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change stated that China’s cutback on carbon emissions will be “dependent on the adequate finance and technology support provided by developed country parties.”

Or in other words, China thinks Western nations need to pay for the costs associated with potential cutbacks to combat climate change.

China’s lackluster willingness to get on board with Obama’s challenge is reflective of a president who is seen as weak within the international community.  His past actions speak volumes for his lack of strength.

The American people tend to agree.  In a Sept. 10 Fox News poll, 57 percent of Americans said they believe Obama is “a weak and indecisive leader.”  Additionally, 61 percent of Americans think the United States is less respected in the world today than it was six years ago.

The American people cannot be blamed for having these views especially considering what has happened on the international stage over the past six years since our fearless leader has graced the Oval Office.

Last August, despite Obama’s threat to use missile strikes, the Syrian government used chemical weapons against its own citizens. President Bashar al-Assad crossed the red line despite Obama’s warnings. Once this line was crossed, Obama did not follow through on his threat. Instead, he passed the ball to a divided and indecisive Congress knowing that nothing would happen. Luckily, Russia came in and helped the Syrians and the U.S. negotiate a treaty resulting in Syria giving up its chemical weapons arsenal.

Earlier this year, Obama again exhibited his lack of strength. Despite several sanctions imposed by the U.S., Russia repeatedly made moves that threatened the sovereignty of Ukraine.  Even with Obama’s sanctions, President Vladimir Putin is still accomplishing his goal of expanding his power and influence in the region, especially in Ukrainian politics.

I don’t think Putin is a model leader by any stretch of the imagination, but he is a great example of a president with strength.  His actions anger and frustrate the entire Western world, yet no one is willing to stop him with enough force to keep him from taking what he wants.

Obama’s “We have no strategy yet” gaffe regarding America’s plans to combat the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, further shows a lack of strength internationally.  Yes, he has a plan now that may or may not be effective, but the ISIS threat has been growing for months without any deterrents from the U.S. ISIS was able to take advantage of an unstable region without substantial resistance.

Clearly, the U.S. and, more importantly, the world at large would benefit from a strong leader in Washington, D.C. Considering the number of the presidents who had a legacy of being strong leaders on the international stage, such has Franklin Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan and Dwight Eisenhower, it is especially disappointing to see such a weak leader.

For the sake of the global community, the U.S. needs to be strong. China’s indifference toward Obama’s urging is a sign of his faltering international presence. I pray that in the looming battle with ISIS, Obama takes the initiative and proves himself a true leader by destroying this serious terror threat. The U.S. was instrumental in stopping Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Hopefully that strong tradition may continue. However, I am not holding my breath.

Chris Pulliam is a sophomore policy studies and political science major. His column appears weekly. He can be reached at clpullia@syr.edu.

Published on October 1, 2014 at 12:23 am