President Obama’s foreign policy is based on fantasy

The Washington Post editorial board just figured this out?

FOR FIVE YEARS, President Obama has led a foreign policy based more on how he thinks the world should operate than on reality. It was a world in which “the tide of war is receding” and the United States could, without much risk, radically reduce the size of its armed forces. Other leaders, in this vision, would behave rationally and in the interest of their people and the world. Invasions, brute force, great-power games and shifting alliances — these were things of the past. Secretary of State John F. Kerry displayed this mindset on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday when he said, of Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine, “It’s a 19th century act in the 21st century.”

That’s a nice thought, and we all know what he means. A country’s standing is no longer measured in throw-weight or battalions. The world is too interconnected to break into blocs. A small country that plugs into cyberspace can deliver more prosperity to its people (think Singapore or Estonia) than a giant with natural resources and standing armies.

Unfortunately, Russian President Vladimir Putin has not received the memo on 21st-century behavior. Neither has China’s president, Xi Jinping, who is engaging in gunboat diplomacy against Japan and the weaker nations of Southeast Asia. Syrian president Bashar al-Assad is waging a very 20th-century war against his own people, sending helicopters to drop exploding barrels full of screws, nails and other shrapnel onto apartment buildings where families cower in basements. These men will not be deterred by the disapproval of their peers, the weight of world opinion or even disinvestment by Silicon Valley companies. They are concerned primarily with maintaining their holds on power.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ ... story.html

Welcome to reality President Obama. Feel the suck.

(Memo for Fred - read the bold part above over and over)

Good point. I forget who said it but one of the biggest mistakes you can make in diplomacy is to think your opponent across the table has the same background and set of values as you.
Possibly one reason Obama is such a bad negotiator both domestically and internationally? He doesn't understand the other side.

Thanks for the link and the quote.

"FOR FIVE YEARS, President Obama has led a foreign policy based more on how he thinks the world should operate than on reality."

The same for how he handles issues w/i the USA. Let's hope that some time reality will actually catch up with him and he will recognize it. Not holding my breath.

GreatGran wrote: Thanks for the link and the quote.

"FOR FIVE YEARS, President Obama has led a foreign policy based more on how he thinks the world should operate than on reality."

The same for how he handles issues w/i the USA. Let's hope that some time reality will actually catch up with him and he will recognize it. Not holding my breath.

I'm sometimes not sure if the folks running our county (left or right) even have a firm grasp on the rest of the world, customs, politics, their world views. I sometimes get the impression that these politicians think the world started when they got into office.

A picky example. Congresscritter Perlmutter this morning said that this crisis has cause the Ukrainian ruble to tumble in value this morning.

The Ukrainians currency is not called a ruble, it's a гривня (hryvnia). And it's never been called a ruble.

The American intelligence level when it concerns the world and world history is slowly becoming anthropoid.

RR.....America's LACK of global awareness is NOT a new phenomenon....9/11 gave us a glimpse
of the REST of the globe,however,for the most part,Americans STILL only perceive their immediate surroundings.....(sometimes even that seems 'iffy"....situational awareness is NOT
something I observe as being the "norm").....you can thank the Smart phone for that....JMO

homeagain wrote: RR.....America's LACK of global awareness is NOT a new phenomenon....9/11 gave us a glimpse
of the REST of the globe,however,for the most part,Americans STILL only perceive their immediate surroundings.....(sometimes even that seems 'iffy"....situational awareness is NOT
something I observe as being the "norm").....you can thank the Smart phone for that....JMO

I agree with you 100%. But I'm starting to see this lack of awareness more and more, and especially in our young folk. My two step daughters were brought up on a healthy dose of world history going back to Greek and Roman times.

They know who Chamberlain was, they know how people and tribes move throughout the rest of the world and how great nation states arose. They know the important dates and how the dots connect.

My reporting job for the Flume gives me the opportunity to speak to all kinds of people on all kinds of topic, and when I interact with "our just out of high school" kids, most of them couldn't tell you where the Ukraine is or how Crimea factored into many geopolitical events over the last 200 years.

I had a 20 something Tunisian guest over for brunch yesterday. He has a better grasp on western and eastern European AND US history than most others his age in this county. And really a better grasp of history than a whole lot of adults I've spoke to. He's an American citizen now, but he carries with him a finer understanding of the world around him.

Texting a Facebook friend in Poland does not mean you gain any idea of what that person experiences LIVE on a daily basis.

I've done on the ground research in eastern Europe, Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany, to the border of Belarus, and I've been all over western Europe. I speak to people, I find out their world views, politics what they fear, why they fear, what makes them happy and what life means to them.

Most of these folks are good people at heart. But they are not us, and they have world experiences that are different than us. Friend or enemy, you can't understand what moves peoples and nations until you get a firm grasp on world history and current events.

I've said it again and again. If you can afford it, get out of you safe zone, visit eastern Europe, visit western Europe and get down into the streets, eat with the local population, sing and dance with them, argue politics, learn about their heritage, experience the cultural heritage.

President Obama has never taken the opportunity to do any of this. He's clouded by a ideology that has taken on religious proportions. And as the article says, this is the results.

"For five years, President Obama has led a foreign policy based more on how he thinks the world should operate than on reality."

Sad.

Attack the smart phone? Really? With the smart phone & internet I can look up the currency of the Ukraine and see how much debt they owe to the Russians.

And I think you two are nostalgic about Americans and how much they knew about the world. Too often in the past, people only learned about other countries after our troops became involved there. There has always been a healthy dose of isolationism in America, especially before WWII.

Smart phones are a two edged sword....YES, certainly a convenience when looking up facts/info
BUT I have a question....(since I do NOT own a SmartPhone), what is the PRIMARY useage?

Access e-mails,finding the closest cheapest gas,texting friends and family,following Facebook,
Pinterest,MySpace, etc? I am asking in earnest, because ALL I observe is a "heads down"
mode and fingers fondling the screen.....earbuds in place....TOTALLY CLOSED off....(so much so
that emergency vehicle sirens are NOT heard,a cry for help is left unheard and a threatening sky
with thunder is non-existent....)

I was speaking to my chiropractor last week,he says he has a hard time getting patients to
PUT DOWN their phones and just BE,unable to relax for a moment so he can work on their
body structure....THAT is an addictive behavior....(and a clear sign that technology, al tho
advanced and time saving,is a detriment to a sane way of life)JMO

The smartphone like any tool has good and bad uses. I am one of those people who if I am waiting, I am online checking the news or twitter feeds, etc. But some people just use their smart phones to play Candy Crush or update their Facebook status. But you could say the same thing about internet usage at home or work. Some people are using it for good and others are just killing time.

FredHayek wrote: Attack the smart phone? Really? With the smart phone & internet I can look up the currency of the Ukraine and see how much debt they owe to the Russians.

And I think you two are nostalgic about Americans and how much they knew about the world. Too often in the past, people only learned about other countries after our troops became involved there. There has always been a healthy dose of isolationism in America, especially before WWII.

Did you read my long comment? I was not being nostalgic (nostalgia is a thing of the past), I was talking about our current educational deficiencies and the fact that AMERICANS DON'T GET OUT ENOUGH INTO THE REST OF THE WORLD.

My diatribe was precisely about our isolationism. So what were you trying to tell me? Restating the obvious?

Whew... something I understand why Lady Jazzer jumps on you the way she does.