Rumsfeld on Ukraine, Obama-Putin, and America

Mar. 03, 2014 - 4:13 - Former defense secretary on president's handling of the Ukraine crisis and Putin and what it means to America's perception on the world stage

Obama's Foreign Policy Based on 'Fantasy'?

Mar. 03, 2014 - 4:33 - Amb. John Bolton on the latest in the Ukraine crisis, Putin's maneuvers and how they reflects holes in the president's approach to foreign policy

Judge Jeanine: Obama's Policies Reducing US to Paper Tiger

Mar. 02, 2014 - 6:02 - President issues another warning

Did Obama's Foreign Policy Stumbles Lead to Ukraine Crisis?

Mar. 03, 2014 - 7:12 - Republicans slam president's weaknesses

Republicans Call for an About Face on US Policy on Russia

Mar. 03, 2014 - 5:01 - Rep. Turner wants to see a significant change from Obama

Israel & Saudi Team Up Frustrated at US Policy

The unlikely pairing of Saudi Arabia and Israel are reportedly teaming up, in response to Washington's Middle East policies. Representatives from the countries' intelligence services apparently met for talks in Jerusalem. They're united in their disdain for America's reversal on intervention in Syria, followed by the agreement of a historic nuclear deal with Iran.

'Schizophrenic' US Foreign Policy Pushing Arab States Toward Russia, Bahrain Warns

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Obama administration's stance on Iran and Syria could see US lose influence in the Middle East, Bahrain's rulers warn

America’s “schizophrenic” approach to the Middle East could result in many key Arab states deciding to align themselves more closely with Russia, the rulers of Bahrain warned on Sunday.

In an exclusive interview with The Telegraph, Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, the Crown Prince of Bahrain, warned that Barack Obama's administration would lose influence in the region if it persisted with what [is] a “transient and reactive” foreign policy.

There has been a sharp rise in tensions between Washington and several major Arab states in the wake of last month’s controversial interim agreement with Iran over its nuclear programme.

Citing President Obama’s handling of the recent crisis over Syria’s chemical weapons, which allowed Russian President Vladimir Putin to seize the initiative, Sheikh Salman said some states were now seriously reviewing their relations with the US.

“The Russians have proved they are reliable friends,” said Sheikh Salman, referring to Mr Putin’s diplomatic intervention to prevent Western military action against Bashar al-Assad.

“As a result some states in the region have already started to look at developing more multilateral relations rather than just relying on Washington. America seems to suffer from schizophrenia when it deals with the Arab world.” » | Con Coughlin, Defence Editor, Bahrain | Sunday, December 08, 2013

DC Navy Yard Shooting 'May Be Related to US Foreign Policy'

Four people have been confirmed dead and eight injured, after a shooting at a Navy Yard in Washington DC. Witnesses say a gunman was shooting from the 4th floor at people in a cafeteria. Reports claim two or three gunmen may have been involved in the attack - though that's unconfirmed. Several civilians and police officers are among the victims. Approximately three thousand people work at the building, where the largest of the Navy's command systems is situated. For more , RT talks to political commentator John Wight.

Cleared of Aiding the Enemy, Bradley Manning Still Faces a Lifetime in Jail. The Very Least We Owe This Heroic Man Is a Debate on US Foreign Policy

THE INDEPENDENT: Manning revealed the sordid realities of war that the armchair warriors want sanitised

Power has to be relentlessly fought. Without being constantly checked, exposed, harangued, mocked and driven back, it would swiftly devour all the rights that were won at its expense. There is invariably a cost. The powerful know that if those who chip away at their authority are not undermined, or humiliated, or even persecuted, others would be emboldened to strike blows at them, too.

And so it is with Bradley Manning. Although a military judge has found him not guilty of aiding the enemy, the guilty verdicts on other charges will leave him languishing in military custody for much, if not all, of his life: indeed, he faces a sentence of 130 years. Here is the sacrifice he has paid for exposing the secretive actions of a government that claims to act in the name of the US people.

Here's why. Over a decade ago, the US initiated two calamitous wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, with a terrible human cost that is still paid every single day. The then-UN Secretary General Kofi Annan declared that the Iraq invasion was illegal; the country is today still awash with car bombings and gruesome sectarian bloodletting. It was always in the interests of the US elite to keep the consequences of their actions as far away from public consciousness as possible. … » | Owen Jones | Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Inside Story Americas: Snowden's Great Escape
As the US tries to detain the whistleblower, we look at the diplomatic repercussions of tracking down Edward Snowden.

US Election 2012: It's Not Just the Gaffes - Romney's Foreign Policy Vacuum Leaves Lasting Damage

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The goal of a foreign policy tour in the middle of an American campaign is to appear presidential, writes John Avlon. But in the absence of real policy, however, it was the gaffes that became the lasting memory.

Mitt Romney got back to the USA after his magical misery tour through Britain, Israel and Poland and promptly decamped to the Midwest swing states where his poll numbers have been dipping precipitously.

The goal of a foreign policy tour in the middle of an American campaign is to appear presidential – a subtle psychological reinforcement of the idea that the man can be trusted to represent the nation on the world stage.

The famously risk-averse Romney had scheduled what should have been a seamless tour, starting with a visit to the Olympics - a beloved cornerstone of his campaign biography as a turnaround artist. But as British readers know all too well, things didn't quite work out as intended.

When the leading British Conservatives – Prime Minister David Cameron and Mayor Boris Johnson – disrespect the visiting conservative presidential candidate, you know things have gone horribly wrong.

Team Romney was on the defensive for the rest of the trip, with meticulous photo opportunities spoiled by unforced errors. My personal favourite came courtesy of an over-zealous aide who rebuked the travelling press corps for shouting questions at the candidate after he deposited a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw.

"Kiss my ass," shouted the Romney spokesman. "This is a holy site for the Polish people. Show some respect."

Martin Scorsese couldn't have written better dialogue. Read on and comment » | John Avlon, American Way | Saturday, August 04, 2012

US ‘Should Stop Trying to Conquer Countries’ - Congressman

Australian MP Refers to US Policy as 'Naive and Destructive'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Australia’s Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has been criticised for using an ill-considered literary reference in an address to Barack Obama which implied US foreign policy was naive and destructive.

During an address in Parliament to honour Mr Obama’s visit last week, Mr Abbott, a staunch supporter of the US, cited Graham Greene’s The Quiet American in a manner which suggested that America’s approach to the world mirrored that of Greene’s boyishly ideological character, Alden Pyle. Mr Abbott told the President: “Not for nothing did Graham Greene say of his Quiet American that he had never met a man with such good intentions for all the trouble he caused”.

The reference, in a book widely regarded as anti-American, came as Mr Abbott, a former Rhodes Scholar who heads the conservative Coalition, described the US as the nation that has shouldered the “heaviest lifting” in fending off the threat of totalitarianism and terrorism. » | Jonathan Pearlman, Sydney | Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Tony Blair on U.S. Policy in Middle East
Jun 29, 2011 – Former U.K. prime minister weigh in on Obama's Israel comments, Afghanistan troop withdrawal

Arabs See Obama Speech as Late, Not Enough

AL MASRY AL YOUM: US President Barack Obama's speech on uprisings sweeping the Arab world show Washington is struggling to guide democratic movements that took it by surprise, Arab analysts said, threatening US regional allies.

Obama went to Cairo University to address the Muslim world in a landmark speech in 2009 that promised support for democracy that Washington assumed would come thanks to outside pressure on entrenched rulers in countries such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

But on Thursday he stood at a State Department podium in Washington to discuss protest movements that have been mainly peaceful and driven by ordinary Arabs, removing autocrats in Tunisia and Egypt but so far failing to bring change in Yemen, Bahrain, Syria or Libya.

The stark contrast in settings said much about a confused US reaction to Arab revolts where it has appeared to be irrelevant, and its challenge now in nudging them towards conclusions compatible with US foreign policy goals.

Those include isolating Iran, ensuring continued Gulf Arab oil supplies and promoting Arab ties with Israel. Obama's failure to end Israeli settlement activity in the occupied West Bank, where Palestinians seek statehood, has done much to quash the hope many Arabs had in him two years ago. » | Reuters | Friday, May 20, 2011

"My prediction on Obama's speech: Arab leaders won't like it much. Arab reformers won't like it much. This is the Obama style: Try to appeal to everyone and end up disappointing everyone." – Shadi Hamid, Brookings Centre in Qatar on Twitter

Obama Pushes Mideast Policy Change

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama Middle East speech: Palestinian state should be based on 1967 borders: US President Barack Obama said for the first time on Thursday that the borders of Israel and a future Palestinian state should be based on 1967 lines and be completed with land swaps. » | Thursday, May 19, 2011

Analysis: West's Caution on Syria Jars with Libya Action
REUTERS: An authoritarian Arab ruler unleashes his security forces and irregular militia gunmen to crush peaceful pro-democracy protests, killing hundreds of people including women and children.

Does the West a) issue statements condemning the excessive use of force; b) seek U.N. sanctions and an International Criminal Court investigation; c) provide practical support for pro-democracy protesters, d) intervene militarily?

The answer, to many human rights campaigners, seems to vary unacceptably depending on the state concerned.

Western powers which took up arms against Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, citing the United Nations principle of the responsibility to protect civilians, have confined themselves so far to verbal outrage at the killing of some 350 people in Syria.

The balance of Western economic and security interests and humanitarian values is different in each case but the perceived double standard is causing anger in the Middle East and among Western publics.

"After Friday's carnage, it is no longer enough to condemn the violence," Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at pressure group Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

"Faced with the Syrian authorities' 'shoot to kill' strategy, the international community needs to impose sanctions on those ordering the shooting of protesters."

When the Gulf Arab kingdom of Bahrain called in Saudi troops last month to help quash a pro-democracy movement led mostly by the Shi'ite Muslim majority, the United States and Europe uttered a few pro-forma words of disapproval, then fell silent. » | Paul Taylor | PARIS | Monday, April 25, 2011

Pace of Events in Middle East Unprecedented, Says Crowley
PJ Crowley, the former State Department spokesman, in an interview with Al Jazeera, has said that the events in Middle East are unfolding at an unprecedented speed and scope and that it's very difficult to predict outcomes.
Crowley has denied that there was a split between the Pentagon and the State Department over the military action in Libya.
He said that it's difficult and challenging to construct an approach that has the right balance of military action and diplomacy.
The former State Department spokesman reiterated that the US approach to the region has been consistent and it has evolved over time

America’s Foreign Policy Conundrum

Mohamed ElBaradei Hits Out at West's Support for Repressive Regimes
THE GUARDIAN: Exclusive: Ex-nuclear chief says west must rethink Middle East policy as speculation grows he may run for office in Egypt

Western governments risk creating a new generation of Islamist extremists if they continue to support repressive regimes in the Middle East, the former head of the UN nuclear watchdog, Mohamed ElBaradei, has told the Guardian.

In his first English-language interview since returning to Cairo in February, the Nobel peace prize-winner said the strategy of supporting authoritarian rulers in an effort to combat the threat of Islamic extremism had been a failure, with potentially disastrous consequences.

"There is a need for re-evaluation … the idea that the only alternative to authoritarian regimes is [Osama] Bin Laden and co is a fake one, yet continuation of current policies will make that prophecy come true," he said. "I see increasing radicalisation in this area of the world, and I understand the reason. People feel repressed by their own governments, they feel unfairly treated by the outside world, they wake up in the morning and who do they see – they see people being shot and killed, all Muslims from Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Darfur."

ElBaradei said he felt vindicated in his cautious approach while head of the International Atomic Energy Authority. He revealed that all his reports in the runup to the Iraq war were designed to be "immune from being abused" by governments. "I would hope that the lessons of Iraq, both in London and in the US, have started to sink in," he said.

"Sure, there are dictators, but are you ready every time you want to get rid of a dictator to sacrifice a million innocent civilians? All the indications coming out of [the Chilcot inquiry] are that Iraq was not really about weapons of mass destruction but rather about regime change, and I keep asking the same question – where do you find this regime change in international law? And if it is a violation of international law, who is accountable for that?"

ElBaradei, who has emerged as a potential challenger to the three-decade rule of Egypt's president, Hosni Mubarak, said western governments must withdraw the unstinting support for autocrats who were seen to be a bulwark against extremism. >>> Jack Shenker in Cairo | Wednesday, March 31, 2010