Which Region Best Displays The Failures Of Obama's Foreign Policy: Latin America, Middle East Or Asia?

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 20:04:02 +0000

It is, on one hand, a vision of romantic liberal internationalism not seen in the White House since the days of Jimmy Carter. From the tropical gulags of Cuba to the now-blood stained streets of Tehran, from the festering sore of human despair in Pyongyang to the tin pot dictatorship that is Venezuela, the president has held fast to the notion that totalitarian government is the product of a failure to communicate. Sit down with the mullahs, understand the plight of the Castro brothers, and sympathize with the psychic trauma of Kim Jong Il’s quest to find the perfect gray pantsuit, and the dictatorial urge will wither.
Latin America:
In Latin America, Obama extends an olive branch to Cuba. In return, Fidel Castro condemns America’s “torture” policies, doubtlessly on the grounds that cruelty ought to be pursued recreationally rather than as a matter of national security. The president grips and grins with Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez, calling him “mi amigo”. Obama’s buddy then forces the main leader of his political opposition to flee to Peru rather than be thrown in prison and threatens to shut down the last vestiges of the free press in his country. In Honduras, the military intervenes to prevent President Manuel Zelaya from dismantling the nation’s constitution. Obama refers to the actions as a “coup” (though they were actually taken to prevent a coup) and “illegal”. And thus does the best-selling author and Harvard Law graduate reveal how precarious his grasp of both basic diction and essential constitutional law is.
Middle East:
In the Middle East, Obama promises a new relationship with the Islamic world built on a foundation of mutual respect. He sends a New Years greeting to the people of Iran and the mullahs laugh him off, rig an election, and slaughter their people in the street. He goes to Cairo to spread his goodwill message and the Egyptian president pointedly notes that the Arab world is not interested in peace. He strong-arms Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to move toward a peace agreement with the Palestinians and a Hamas spokesman says “Recognizing Israel is completely unacceptable. ”
Asia:
In Asia, Obama dispatches his Secretary of State to China with a message that the United States is willing to overlook the communist regime’s human rights abuses in exchange for cooperation on the financial crisis and climate change. In response, the Chinese government suggests the development of a new global reserve currency to supplant the dollar and gleefully anticipates the day when Obama’s cap and trade policies move the Chinese economy towards full employment. North Korea receives overtures of American cooperation and proceeds with nuclear tests and a planned Fourth of July missile launch towards Hawaii (the latter an almost farcical exercise in seeing how far the new president can be pushed).

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Which Region Best Displays The Failures Of Obama's Foreign Policy: Latin America, Middle East Or Asia?