Popularity, Security
"Barrels of Good Will for Obama, but Few Foreign Policy Benefits," read a recent New York Times headline. Polls show that foreigners generally feel better about the U.S. since the change in administration. Obama's Nobel reinforces the impression. But this has not translated into tangible diplomatic gains.
There are two reasons for that. The first: Governments -- even democratic ones, and many are not democratic -- are not mere mechanisms for translating popular opinion into official action. The second: With few if any exceptions, nations have interests, not friends.
Seen in that light, warm feelings might mask glee over perceived weakness. America was never so loved abroad as on 9/11, when she was on her knees. U.S. popularity declined once the U.S. started fighting back. Yet many Americans probably prefer their country to be slightly less liked and slightly more safe than vice versa.
Reader Reactions
Only this rather goofy paper would write a six-sentence editorial on American foreign policy. Surprise: it’s nothing but a few micellaneous shallow thoughts tossed together to fill space.
I’m a Foreign Service retiree and was serving at the US Embassy in London during 9/11 and two years later reassigned to Germany where I also served two years. Like the above comment submitter I find it troubling that the RTD editors would state that “US popularity declined once the US started fighting back.” During my above service in Europe I got to know Brits and Germans professionally and socially and lived on the economy in both countries. I can tell you that these important allies had no problem with our intervention (fighting back) in Afghanistan and saw it as self defense as a result of 9/11. Our popularity took a nose dive when we invaded Iraq. Why? Because no Iraqi had anything whatsoever to do with 9/11. Myself and my European friends I get so tired of Americans lumping our Iraq adventure into the same “counter terrorism” argument as Afghanistan. Just in the last few days the Iraqi government released their own estimate of the number of innocent Iraqis killed as a result of out intervention there. It was 85,000. I repeat. Eighty Five Thousand innocent Iraqis killed! To most Americans those are simply statistics. Oh, but when 3,000 innocent Americans are killed by a terrorist act we act so traumatized. We are quite simply hypocrites.
“U.S. popularity declined once the U.S. started fighting back”....
Writer of this tidbit article either is naive or too far politically fogged to deliver the truth.
44 nations supported the joint military activities into Afghanistan that started Oct 7, 2001; five weeks after 9/11/01 and 8 years and 11 days ago. Those nations included Germany with 4,245 troops and France with 3,070 troops, both who were trashed for not later supporting the Cheney/Bush war of choice in attacking Iraq for disruption of world oil output; thus five years of high profits for oil companies and private contractors, such as Cheney’s old employer, Halliburton, where he gained stock options that profited the VP immensely from the Iraq War-for-profits. Political kids in Congress even changed French fries to freedom fries in the Capitol’s foodservice facility, a childish means of losing “goodwill”. As to the nations who did not join Cheney & Bush on their folly-for-profits, time proved them right and America fooled by profiteers who ran our White House.
Writer notes, “With few if any exceptions, nations have interests, not friends.” That implies with few, if any, exceptions, nations have self-interests that are negative to best interests of the world at-large, such as peace. That implies all nations (with few, if any, exceptions) are not the friends we ought to seek. That implies our USA should practice isolationism, not trust anyone, go through life alone. That is a Dark Ages mentality, similar to the 8 years of Cheney/Bush and not in the best interests of America nor the world. A poor path of choice for a nation seeking world peace, if world peace should be a goal. Should it?
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