Obama takes foreign policy risk, but on his own terms

President Barack Obama's secret negotiations on Cuba suggest he's willing to make bold and risky moves if he can keep tight control and rely on a few close aides.
It's a pattern he followed during clandestine talks with Iran that led to an interim nuclear deal and the under-the-radar discussions with China on a climate change agreement.
Such diplomatic breakthroughs have buoyed Obama and may help counter charges that his responses to other international matters, including the rise of Islamic State militants and Russia's aggression in Ukraine, are weak and ineffective.