U.S. President Barack Obama reaped criticisms from both Democratic and Republican parties over his foreign policy amid the existing crises in the Middle East and Ukraine.

Obama announced on Thursday that his administration still has no strategy for addressing the Islamic State (IS) threat and Republican lawmakers took the statement as a sign of indecisiveness.

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On Sunday, powerful Democrats joined in criticizing Obama's foreign policy and urged the president to exert more effort to help Ukraine fight Russia, Reuters detailed.

Democrat Dianne Feinstein, Senate Intelligence Committee chairwoman, said told NBC that the president is being "too cautious" in dealing with IS terrorists.

Representative Adam Smith, another Democrat from the House Armed Services Committee, echoed the Republicans' call for Obama to provide "be more forceful" in providing aid to Ukraine. However, he said the U.S. had to be very careful in making any moves regarding the situation in Syria to avoid supporting Bashar al-Assad.

The flood of criticisms came as the U.S. became embroiled in multiple international crises, including a recent attack on a U.S. embassy annex in Libya.

White House officials defended Obama's comment on having no strategy for the IS threat, saying the Pentagon was still working on a potential military offensive in Syria. Military action is just one part of the administration's bigger plan, the officials added.

House Intelligence Committee chief Mike Rogers said Obama's foreign policy is not working and is not in "absolute freefall."

According to Senator John McCain, the U.S. needs to beef up its special operations forces and gear up for more action against the IS.

McCain enumerated additional air controllers, more trainers for the Iraqi army and international coalition against IS as among the things that Obama needs to consider right now.

Last year, Obama announced strikes against Syria, but he suddenly backed out from the action without informing the U.S. international partners about the decision. For this reason, other countries are now reluctant to build a coalition with the U.S. against the IS, McCain explained.

TagsBarack Obama, U.S., Democrats, Republicans, Ukraine, Russia, Reuters, Dianne Feinstein, Senate Intelligence Committee, NBC, Adam Smith, House Armed Services Committee, Bashar al-Assad, Libya, Mike Rogers, John McCain