Quote:America’s allies see only passivity or contradiction in Washington’s response.Well, world, you got what you wanted. Now I guess we'll see over time what that amounts to.
Mr Obama seems to be cheering on the revolutions which remove long-time
allies, such as President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, while sitting on his
hands when it comes down to ridding Libya of Col Qaddafi, a ruthless old
enemy of the US and a lingering embarrassment to the Arab world.
In Europe, this passivity is greeted in different ways. In Britain,
the prime minister, David Cameron, is said to be exasperated at US
indecisiveness, with insiders describing the diplomatic process with
Washington as like pushing on a piece of string. In France, President
Nicolas Sarkozy has seized the opportunity to take the lead in
recognising the Libyan rebels, to the consternation of Germany.
Arab allies are confused as to whether they can rely on Washington
for support. It seems like Washington is no longer the status quo power,
but rather a go-with-the-flow power. It lets events take their course.
The first to realise US weakness in the Middle East were the
Israelis. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was able to defy Mr Obama’s
clearly expressed demands to stop settlement building. Far from being
punished, his obstinacy was rewarded with offers of more F-35 advanced
stealth fighters. The message has been heard far and wide: in foreign
policy Mr Obama is not an effective politician who can match means to
ends.
Be careful what you wish for...
I'm not sure what to make of a world where France is more willing to take the lead than America. FRANCE has more balls than we do.