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As the world waits to get a sense of the contours of the Trump administrations policies in Syria, reports have surfaced that the Pentagon may propose ramping up U.S. involvement and sending in ground troops.

In the retrospective, it is axiomatic among Washingtons foreign policy establishment that the Obama administrations response to the chaos in Syria will be a lasting stain on his legacy. With nearly 500,000 dead since the March 2011 uprising that sparked the war, the foreign policy elite have blamed Barack ObamaBarack ObamaVa. gov vetoes bill to defund Planned Parenthood Yes, it's war: How the media should fight back against Trump How will history judge Obamas actions in Syria? MORE for not doing more.

But how will history view Obamas Syria policy? Unlike so many other instances during his presidency, when it came to Syria, Obama defied the Washington playbook and kept the United States from getting mired in another Middle East conflict, sure to unleash a host of unintended consequences.

In a much ballyhooed Atlantic interview last year, Obama criticized what he called the playbook that comes of the foreign policy establishment in Washington, which prescribes responses that tend to be militarized. He relied on a prominent group of liberal interventionist foreign policy advisers, including his secretary of State, Hillary ClintonHillary Rodham ClintonJudd Apatow compares Trump election to rape in stand-up Yes, it's war: How the media should fight back against Trump Clinton to Trump: Speak out against anti-Semitic attacks now MORE, national security adviser, Susan Rice, and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha PowerSamantha PowerHow will history judge Obamas actions in Syria? Russia's ambassador to the United Nations dies Trump's top diplomat enters pressure cooker MORE, who had these same tendencies throughout his presidency.

Clinton, Rice and Power led the push to intervene in Libya in 2011, and were equally vociferous in their advocacy for greater U.S. engagement in Syria. But the pressure to ramp up U.S. support to Syrian rebels did not just come from within the administration. Indeed, most of the foreign-policy establishment in Washington, both Democrat and Republican supported a larger effort in Syria.

In 2011, Obama called for Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down, and as the civil war became increasingly complex and bloody, calls for intervention grew markedly. Yet, many of the critics of the presidents Syria policy articulated exaggerated views about the United Statess ability to shape events in Syria. According to Josh Landis, one of the foremost Syria analysts in the U.S., There is no way that the United States was going to solve the Syria Problem in any constructive way and just keeping us out of it to the extent he [Obama] did was a boon.

After significant pressure, Obama eventually relented somewhat and in 2014 asked Congress for funds to train and equip approximately 15,000 rebels in Jordan. The program was colossal failure, and the administration was eventually forced to admit that only four or five of the recruits in the program returned to fight in Syria.

The failure to build a credible rebel force in Syria is not some outlier: U.S. efforts to arm insurgent groups rarely succeed, and often come back to bite.

According to several CIA studies beginning in 2012, past attempts by the agency to arm insurgent forces had little impact, and were particularly ineffective without direct U.S. support on the ground. Obama was always deeply dubious of the rebels ability to be an effective fighting force, arguing that the moderate opposition was made up of former doctors, farmers, pharmacists going up against a well-armed state backed by Russia, Iran and Hezbollah.

Those in favor of greater support for the Syrian rebels were enamored with the notion of moderate rebels. The problem all along was that such a contingent would have never been effective: The Assad regimes violent and draconian response to the early peaceful protests helped to quickly suppress moderate voices. According to Landis, America failed not because it didnt try, but because its moderates were incompetent and unpopular. Overall, Landis argues that extremist groups won out in Syria because they were better fighters with more strategic vision.

Although the president was widely excoriated for damaging U.S. credibility by not following through on his red line remark on the use of chemical weapons, a 2013 U.S.-Russian agreement to destroy Syrias chemical weapon arsenal was hugely important to long-term regional stability. The red line comment was not an enunciation of policy, and the deal was perfectly consistent with Obamas assertion that he would not sit by if the regime was to use chemical weapons.

While the mission to rid Syria of all its chemical weapons came up short, it did dramatically lighten the regimes arsenal. Suppose that instead of reaching the agreement with Russia, the U.S. began an earnest effort to overthrow the Assad regime. Filling the vacuum would have been radical militias, like the Islamic State, who were ascendant in 2013 and would have scrambled for control of the chemical weapons arsenal, threatening the entire Middle East.

In deciding to intervene in Libya in 2011, Obama failed to apply the lessons of the Iraq War. While Moammar Gadhafi may be gone, its arguable that the country is even worse off than under his rule. With the exception of Tunisia, throughout the region, regime changes sparked by the Arab Awakening have only resulted in new or reinforced authoritarian regimes, brutal conflict and anomie. Why would Syria have been any different? If the U.S. had toppled the Assad regime, who would have filled the vacuum? Even before the civil war, the Syrian opposition was weak and hopelessly divided, and the ensuing conflict only deepened those divisions.

For a president who won the Nobel Peace Prize and decried the Washington playbook, Obama resorted to military force far too often. In Syria, however, he believed it was his responsibility to ensure the U.S. was not bogged down in another Middle East war.

Washingtons foreign policy establishment continually fails to learn an important lesson: There are limits to American power, and American engagement does not necessarily result in desirable outcomes. Its a point that is clearly lost on those who continually call for American military engagement to solve the all the worlds problems.

The Syrian civil war has been an utter tragedy. If anything, the Obama administration should have done much more to address the refugee crisis that is wreaking havoc across the Middle East and Europe. The temptation to intervene in situations like the Syrian civil war is humane and understandable. But, in these thorny cases, leaders with circumspection are vital to preventing further conflagration. Fortunately, President Obama was able to do just that and keep the U.S. out of Syria.

With President Trump promising enhanced cooperation with Russia to battle the Islamic State, we can only hope that moving forward the U.S. does not entangle itself in the Syrian quagmire.

Adam Gallagher is a writer and analyst focusing on U.S. foreign policy. He is a senior writer forTropics of Metaand has his work has appeared in The American Prospect, The Huffington Post, The National Interest, The Diplomat, International Policy Digest, Mondoweiss and for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, among other outlets. He has been an officially accredited election observer in Tunisia (2014) and Myanmar (2015). Follow him on Twitter @aegallagher10.

The views of contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill.

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How will history judge Obama's actions in Syria? - The Hill (blog)

Based on the photos of Obama kiteboarding off the coast of billionaire Richard Bransons private island in the Caribbean, few of us will ever have the chance to vacation like our former president. But by examining the daily habits he developed over his eight years in one of the most intense working environments in the world, we can all learn how to work like Obama.

This Presidents Day, whether youre a creative professional, budding entrepreneur, or seasoned CEO, studying Obamas modern approach to the pressures of presidential life will provide you insights into how you too can better manage the stress and responsibilities in your own day-to-day.

Put Your Body to Work: Obama started most days of his presidency with 45 minutes in the gym, alternating between lifting weights and cardio. It was a way to clear his mind and prime it for the day to come, especially since he steered clear of caffeine. Obama told journalist Michael Lewis, You have to exercise, or at some point youll just break down. The Lesson: Although it doesnt have to be as soon as you wake up, all of us need to incorporate exercise in our lives. Studies show that the simple task slows aging, and improves cognition, among a slew of other benefits.

Preserve Decision Making: Look back at pictures of Obama over the course of the presidency and you may notice that he is usually wearing a blue or gray suit. Using the latest neuroscience findings, our former president attempted to extract all the little decisions one makes in a day (what to wear and eat, for example) so that he could avoid decision fatigue, and have more energy to decide on the life-or-death matters that come with leading a country. The Lesson: Form habits and routines that eliminate tiny and inconsequential decision from your day, so you can focus on the important stuff.

Understanding How You and Others Think:Obama recommended reading Daniel Kahnemans book about decision-making, Thinking Fast, and Slow to better understand why and how people make decisions. In the book, Kahneman, a Nobel Prize-winning psychologist, explains the pros and cons between going with your gut (called a System 1 thinker, like George W. Bush) and thinking things through (or System 2 thinker, like Obama). The Lesson: Knowing your biases and approach to decision making, allows you make better decisions and understand competitors, partners, and employees mindset.

Compartmentalize to Survive: Obama became a master of compartmentalizing his time and focus over the course of his presidency. Theres no better example of his skill than the 2011 White House Correspondents Dinner, where, just before Obama got up to poke fun at our current president for his insistence that was not a U.S. citizen, he had just ordered the raid to capture Osama Bin Laden. The Lesson: Have the discipline to compartmentalize the challenges and roles you need to play in your professional life.

Seek Advice: Obama is known for tapping experts from a wide range of disciplines, like Reid Hoffman, John Doerr, and Malcolm Gladwell for advice for his presidency and beyond. And although not all of us have the ability to set up meetings with famous writers and venture capitalists, we can consult our networks to get different perspectives and strategies. The Lesson: Broaden and nurture your network.

Communicate Decisions Clearly: Obama utilized a memo system with his aides, so that majority of them would come with three options: agree, disagree, or discuss. Stating clearly and concisely about how he felt about each issue allowed the president to communicate his decisions to his staff more effectively. The Lesson: If you have people relying on your decision, make sure you are clear in both what your decision is and the way you communicate it.

Be Prepared and Punctual: Unlike some other presidents (former and current), there was rarely a memo that passed by Obamas desk that he didnt read. Obamas economic advisor, Larry Summers,stated it was a certainty that if someone had a meeting with the former president and had sent him a memo, he would have read and understood it, and would be irritated if the author tried to explain it. Obama would start the meeting on time, and end the meeting on time. The Lesson: Time is your most precious resource. Dont waste yours or others because of a lack of discipline and expectations.

Make Time for Family: Nearly every night of his presidency, Obama would sit down with his family at 6:30 p.m. to have dinner, despite the constantly emerging crises around the world. Obama would reconnect with his daughters and the First Lady to find out about their day and decompress. The Lesson: If the president can make time for his family, so should the rest of us.

Focus on Others: Good entrepreneurs know that the best way to evolve a company or product is to not only listen to your staff, but, most importantly, the end users themselves. Obama had his aides sort through his mail to choose ten letters that he would read each day. The Lesson: Know your customers and develop strategies to make sure you hear them no matter how high up you rise.

Find Some Me Time:Maybe its the early morning, or the late afternoon, when you can finally attend to all the built up items on your to-do list, but for Obama, the self-proclaimed night guy, its the wee hours that distraction-free time when he could hide away in the White Houses Treaty Room. There, he could take his time fine-tuning speeches, watching ESPN, or playing Words With Friends. He also went out of his way to read fiction and history, which gave him perspective and an escape from the daily grind. The Lesson: Find time every day to get away from work, rejuvenate, and put your mind in a different space.

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Work Like Obama: Management Secrets From The World's Toughest Job - Huffington Post

New York Times

For-Profit Schools, an Obama Target, See New Day Under Trump New York Times Under the Obama administration, the Education Department discouraged students from attending for-profit colleges, arguing recently that the data showed community colleges offer a better deal than comparable programs at for-profit colleges with higher ...

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For-Profit Schools, an Obama Target, See New Day Under Trump - New York Times

Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly officially ordered federal agents this week to begin arresting and deporting more illegal immigrants, releasing them from the handcuffs the Obama administration had imposed, and making headway on one of President Trumps chief campaign promises.

While young adult illegal immigrant Dreamers are still exempted, agents were told there are no longer any other special classes of people that should be considered off limits for deportation.

Those caught at the border are to be swiftly shipped back, Mr. Kelly said, and he freed agents to target a broader universe of illegal immigrants for deportation from within the interior of the U.S. The secretary said agents are still to give priority to those with criminal rap sheets, but are free to use discretion taken away from them in the Obama years to detain anyone they believe to be in the country illegally.

It is not intended to produce mass roundups, a Homeland Security official said, briefing reporters on two new memos Mr. Kelly signed Monday.

The memos set the groundwork for building a wall and call for hiring 5,000 more Border Patrol agents, 10,000 more Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and 500 more officers for the Air and Marine operations at Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Funding those priorities will depend on Congress.

Secretary Kelly also said local police who want to help enforce immigration laws will be welcomed, rather than rebuffed, as they were under the Obama administration.

SEE ALSO: Trump takes off kid gloves, moves to erase Obamas deportation exemptions

Drafts of the memos had leaked in recent days, sparking feverish outcry from immigrant-rights groups who said they were a major step back in respecting illegal immigrants.

On Capitol Hill, Democrats vowed scrutiny and resistance.

We need an immediate public examination in Congress of these heavy-handed, anti-family policies, said Sen. Richard J. Durbin, Illinois Democrat. The Senate should also pass the bill Ive sponsored to repeal the mass deportation order. The Republican-controlled Congress has an urgent responsibility to do its constitutional duty and act as an independent check on President Trump.

The two memos are watered down slightly compared to draft versions that leaked last week. Rather than being instructed they should arrest most illegal immigrants, as they were in an earlier version, agents are now told they may arrest anyone they deem a priority.

But overall, the memos are designed to carry out Mr. Trumps first two immigration executive orders, signed Jan. 25.

The new memos do not address his extreme vetting policy, signed Jan. 27, which has become ensnared in court battles. An updated memo on vetting is expected later this week.

Under President Obama, immigration enforcement was chiefly a border matter. If migrants could sneak into the interior or, even if they were caught at the border, if they were part of a class Mr. Obama deemed protected, they were given low priority and allowed to disappear into the country with millions of other illegal immigrants.

Mr. Trump dramatically expands that border area both south and north. The policies will put pressure on Mexico to do more to stop the flow of people coming through its territory, and will also unleash immigration agents and prosecutors in the interior of the U.S. to arrest and deport migrants who would have been considered special classes under Mr. Obama.

But many of those details remain to be worked out.

Use of expedited removal a swift deportation will be expanded to cover more people. But the department will first go through a complex regulation process to figure out exactly how far it wants to go.

We will see what happens there. Were not going to start changing this today, a Homeland Security official said.

Likewise, the official said they wont immediately begin using a part of the memo that calls for shipping illegal immigrants caught at the U.S.-Mexico border back into Mexico while they are awaiting their deportation cases. That will happen in time, the official said.

This would say ok, if you want to make a claim for asylum or relief from removal or whatever that case may be, were going to hear your case, but youre going to wait in Mexico, the official said.

Officials said there is no numerical goal for total deportations, and pushed back against charges from immigrant-rights advocates that mass deportations are in the offing.

We dont need a sense of panic necessarily in our communities here, one department official said, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity. What were doing is were simply executing the laws passed by the United States Congress.

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DHS cancels Obama policies, orders agents to expand deportations - Washington Times

President Trump is preparing executive orders aimed at curtailingObama-era policies on climate and water pollution, according to individuals briefed on the measures.

While both directives will take time to implement, they will send an unmistakable signal that the new administration is determined to promote fossil-fuel production and economic activity even when those activities collide with some environmental safeguards. Individuals familiar with the proposals asked for anonymity to describe them in advance of their announcement, which could come as soon as this week.

One executive order which the Trump administration will couch asreducing U.S. dependence on other countries for energy will instruct the Environmental Protection Agency to begin rewriting the 2015 regulation that limits greenhouse-gas emissions from existing electric utilities. It also instructs the Interior Departments Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to lift a moratorium on federal coal leasing.

[Scott Pruitt, longtime adversary of EPA, confirmed to lead the agency]

A second order will instruct the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers to revamp a 2015 rule, known as the Waters of the United Statesrule, that applies to 60 percent of the water bodies in the country. That regulation was issued under the 1972 Clean Water Act, which gives the federal government authority over not only major water bodies but also the wetlands, rivers and streams that feed into them. It affects development as well as some farming operations on the grounds that these activities could pollute the smaller or intermittent bodies of water that flow into major ones.

Trump has joined many industry groups in criticizing these rules as examples of the federal government exceeding its authority and curbing economic growth. While any move to undo these policies will spark new legal battles and entail work within the agencies that could take as long as a year and a half to finalize, the orders could affect investment decisions within the utility, mining, agriculture and real estate sectors, as well as activities on the ground.

Trump, who signed legislation last week that nullified a recent regulation prohibiting surface-mining operations from dumping waste in nearby waterways, said he was eager to support coal miners who had backed his presidential bid. The miners are a big deal, he said Thursday. Ive had support from some of these folks right from the very beginning, and I wont forget it.

[Barack Obamas evolution on climate change]

Bloomberg reported several elements of the executive orders Friday.

The greenhouse-gas limits on existing power plants, dubbed the Clean Power Plan, represented a central components of President Barack Obamas climate agenda. The regulations, which were put on hold by the Supreme Court and are being weighed by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, direct every state to form detailed plans to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from such sources as coal-fired power plants, enough to decrease carbon pollution by about one-third by 2030, compared with 2005 levels.

Trump repeatedly criticized these and other rules aimed at reducing fossil-fuel use as an attack on the U.S. coal industry. Myron Ebell, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute who served on Trumps EPA transition team, said the president is fulfilling his campaign promise by directing key agencies to shift course. Ebell warned, however, that undoing these rules will take time. It could take days, months and years.

President Obama has used his authority under the 1906 Antiquities Act to create national monuments 34 times, more than any other president. With an incoming Trump administration vocally opposed to Obama's executive actions on many issues, will those monuments continue to stand? The Post's Juliet Eilperin explains. (Daron Taylor/The Washington Post)

[A call to modernize a coal leasing program thats cost taxpayers billions]

One measure lifting the moratorium on federal coal leasing could take immediate effect. That freeze has been in effect since December 2015, and last month the Interior Department proposed major changes to a program that guides coal exploration and production across 570 million publicly owned acres.

Days before Obama left office, the Interior Department issued a report saying the federal government should explore options that include charging a higher royalty rate to companies, factoring in the climate impact of the coal being burned through an additional charge to firms and setting an overall carbon budget for the nations coal leasing permits. But the new administration has expressed little interest in pursuing these policies and appears to be opening up the option of coal leasing again without any preconditions.

The House has already passed legislation that wouldeliminate a BLM rulecurbing the release of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from oil and gas operations on federal land. The resolution, which needs Senate and presidential approval to take effect, uses the 1996 Congressional Review Act to reverse one of the final rules the Obama administration issued. While Trump administration officials have discussed whether to address methane regulation in the upcoming executive order, it may not be included in light of Congresss recent action.

Separately, Trump and his deputies are reopening a question of water policy that has bedeviled government officials from both parties for two decades. Two Supreme Court decisions that came down during the George W. Bush administration, in 2001 and 2006, spurred uncertainty over exactly which bodies of water fall under the federal governments jurisdiction. The Bush administration worked on drafting regulations to address the issue, but once Obama took office the EPA began rewriting them. The current rule gives the federal government wide latitude to protect smaller tributaries as well as some, such as wetlands, that may be dry periodically, on the grounds that they still need to be preserved as critical water supplies.

But groups such as the American Farm Bureau Federation argue that the new restrictions could require farmers to pay significant fees to gain federal permission for filling in areas on their property and could halt some operations altogether.

Hunter and angler groups, however, have expressed concern about any rollback of the rule, which they say will preserve wetlands and other habitat that is crucial for outdoor recreation.

If they have a better way to do it, were all for it, said Whit Fosburgh, president of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. But we want to make sure the wetlands and streams covered in the Obama rule can be covered in whatever they develop as a replacement. Thats our bottom line.

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Trump to roll back Obama's climate, water rules through executive action - Washington Post