Here is an enlightening piece from the German magazine Der Spiegel giving the European view of the efficacy of Obama's new warm and fuzzy approach to foreign policy. In one word - "zilch."
As the writer says:
"Upon taking office, Obama said that he wanted to listen to the world, promising respect instead of arrogance. But Obama's currency isn't as strong as he had believed. Everyone wants respect, but hardly anyone is willing to pay for it. Interests, not emotions, dominate the world of realpolitik."
Indeed. Of course there is more than a little irony here, as the Europeans have for decades been able to get by with similar policies because the United States was the adult minding the store and keeping the bad guys at bay. Irony notwithstanding, the article closes with a quote from Newt Gingrich that is dead on:
"Carter tried weakness and the world got tougher and tougher because the predators, the aggressors, the anti-Americans, the dictators, when they sense weakness, they all start pushing ahead," Newt Gingrich, the former Republican speaker in the House of Representatives, recently said. And then he added: "This does look a lot like Jimmy Carter."
The United States is not Belgium and can't act like it. Those to whom much is given, much is expected, Mr.President.
www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,662822,00.html
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