Another year loan calculator amortization Obama campaigned on ending U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan and railed against the policies of President George W. Bush for being interventionist and irresponsible. He largely lived up to his rhetoric during his first term. But after proclaiming the use of chemical weapons a "red line" not to be crossed, Obama finds himself in a difficult position now that the administration has – somewhat belatedly – acknowledged they have been used in Syria.