Writing any kind of political blog, especially one about foreign policy, attracts PR firms to send you offers to conduct interviews or receive press releases on a variety of topics (sometimes you wonder if they even bother to read your blog). Even though I make no money from writing Losantiville, I see no reason to share my readership with some politician or pundit for free.
The reason for my rant is about a week ago I got a press release about Secretary State Kerry's Vision 2020 for India. It was a professional press release full of all of the superlatives requisite for such a grand vision of partnering with a developing economic power. I also thought it was perfectly ridiculous. Kerry has never been to India as Secretary of State. Neither had Hillary. Kerry has been so tied up with Iraq, Ukraine, Israel, Egypt, Iran and Russia that I doubt he even remembers India.
Then I was perusing my news feed and came across an article from the Washington Post. India elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a landslide victory back in May. Here is where the story gets interesting. The U.S. government had denied Modi a visitor’s visa for almost 10 years because of his inability to stop deadly religious rioting in 2002 when he governed Gujarat state. An independent Indian panel concluded there was no evidence to charge him with a crime.
Ah but now Modi is the Prime Minister of the world's 10th largest economy (according to IMF figures for 2013), with 2nd largest population. India also has nuclear weapons and does not get along with our "ally" Pakistan. The US has completed ignored South Korea and Japan after announcing the "Pivot towards Asia" and left on their own, the two countries have found other things to occupy their attention. South Korea has to worry about Kim Jong Un to the north. Japan can't seem to make up their minds if they want to pick a fight with China or Russia over territory.
No wonder the US has to make nice with India. But in typical fashion, the US is ready to jump on-board with another leader before they even understand what his government will be all about. India is still sore after the arrest of an Indian diplomat last year. India, like China, really does not have copyright laws so there is little appreciation for the US concern about protecting intellectual property rights.
Kerry has to dump everything that's been on his mind about the Middle East, including being lambasted by the Israeli press, and now try to lay the ground work for Modi's visit to Washington in September. Kerry had this gem of a quote, "the moment has never been more ripe to deliver on the incredible possibilities of the relationship between our nations" (Washington Post). A newly elected Prime Minister, that the US denied a visitor's visa for over 10 years, and the time have never been more ripe? What a doof.
The foreign policy track record for Kerry and Team Obama in the last 8 months has been unimpressive. India and Modi will not be so easily swayed, especially now that they are part of BRICS. I wonder if I will get a press release about that?
“If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing.”--Benjamin Franklin
Showing posts with label Kerry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kerry. Show all posts
Friday, August 1, 2014
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Mr, Kerry's failure at diplomacy
Mr. Kerry was unable to negotiate a long-term cease fire between Israel and Hamas. It's not surprising since Netanyahu sees this opportunity to break Hamas once and for all. The casualties he is racking up is not by accident. It is an attempt to destroy both Hamas members as well as their support infrastructure. Mr. Kerry truly does not seem capable of understanding what the parties involved are doing nor their motivations.
Mr. Kerry performance while conducting negotiations is more of the topic today than the ongoing war. Israel is the latest country to bristle at the US meddling in their affairs. Obama, Rice and Kerry all mistook the US/Israeli relationship to mean Tel Aviv would take follow orders from the White House. Israel may be an ally of the US but it has never been its puppet. One only needs to look at the history of Israel to see how often they've acted unilaterally without waiting for US approval.
Here are some of the things the Israeli press had to say about the Secretary of State;
Maariv columnist Ben Caspit called Kerry 'an ongoing embarrassment, with the characteristics of a snowball.'
'The further he rolls, the greater the embarrassment,' Caspit said.
Israeli TV reporter Udi Segal ran a report citing government officials who framed Kerry as 'incapable of handling the most basic matters.'--Daily Mail
Mr. Kerry performance while conducting negotiations is more of the topic today than the ongoing war. Israel is the latest country to bristle at the US meddling in their affairs. Obama, Rice and Kerry all mistook the US/Israeli relationship to mean Tel Aviv would take follow orders from the White House. Israel may be an ally of the US but it has never been its puppet. One only needs to look at the history of Israel to see how often they've acted unilaterally without waiting for US approval.
Here are some of the things the Israeli press had to say about the Secretary of State;
Maariv columnist Ben Caspit called Kerry 'an ongoing embarrassment, with the characteristics of a snowball.'
'The further he rolls, the greater the embarrassment,' Caspit said.
Israeli TV reporter Udi Segal ran a report citing government officials who framed Kerry as 'incapable of handling the most basic matters.'--Daily Mail
Obama has a vain streak in him that causes him to become enamored of blue-bloods with pedigrees. His picks people from Ivy League schools thinking, as he possible does of himself, that they can master any task before them. Unfortunately, the people he has picked tend to have that same snobby aloofness that does not get lost in translation. Both Hillary and Kerry tend to lecture world leaders as though they are the only ones who have the intellect to understand the situation. Unfortunately for them, almost always those they've face have intellects that were mored than a match for theirs.
The US invaded Iraq and Afghanistan to prevent al Qaeda from further attacking America. Thousands of Iraqis and Afghanis (along with thousands of Americans and allies) died as a result of those wars. Yet Kerry tried to lecture Israel on their excessive use of force against Hamas. The hypocrisy of this elitist attitude is a big enough hurdle to overcome but then there is Kerry's bumbling demeanor. He just is not up to the the task and the only one who could have done worse is Biden. Kerry has not only failed to broker a cease fire, he has shown the world that the US has no control over Israel.
US hypocrisy is on full view this week. In addition to the ham-fisted attempt at trying reach a ceasefire, apparently for all of the anti-Russian sentiment the US has been fanning sales to Russia are actually INCREASING. According to an article appearing on McClatchy's website, U.S. Census Bureau foreign trade data show that exports rose 17 percent from March through May _ the most recent months for which the data is available _ compared with the previous three months, before sanctions were imposed. Wait, what? Isn't the US hellbent on forcing Russia to withdraw its troops via economic sanctions? Did Hillary Clinton just get done telling the European Union to stop purchasing fuel from Gazprom?
It appears the Russians may be stockpiling good in anticipation of eventually being cut-off from US suppliers. Of course, Russia could cut-off the US from receiving rocket motors in the future (which powers all of the US launch vehicles now). And Russia is in a position to cut the US completely off from accessing the international space station.
More and more it seems the Obama administration is nothing but a paper tiger.
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Of mice and men
Back in 2004, then Senator Kerry wanted to be president. A decorated Vietnam veteran, Mr. Kerry thought he would be a cinch for the nomination. Then cam the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (SBVT) and suddenly his record came into question. To be sure, Kerry did perform with valor but what caught my attention was that he supposedly gave back his medals in 1971. "I gave back, I can't remember, six, seven, eight, nine medals", said Kerry in an interview WRC-TC Viewpoints ABC News
Kerry supposedly gave these medals back because of how he felt about the war (but more likely because as a Democrat it would not help his chances to get elected if here were seen as a hawk). Contrast though this article on Salon from 2004 where apparently Mr. Kerry still has his medals.
“Do you still have the Silver Star,” I asked Kerry. “Yeah,” he said, “do you want to see it?” My answer was yes. He walked across his study to a secondary desk with clutter on top, mainly books, and opened the top right drawer. This is where he keeps all of his war medals. Salon
Now Secretary Kerry is leading the charge for intervention in Syria. Kerry is certain of the use of chemical weapons by Assad (although reports are now surfacing that it may have been the Syrian rebels who used the chemical weapons). Kerry called Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "a thug and a murderer" and accused his regime of using chemical weapons to kill 1,429 people--ABC
So the war hero first morphs into a "dove" then transforms again into a "hawk". It makes it hard to really take the Secretary's bluster all that seriously. Apparently many in Congress feel equally unimpressed with his arguments. Yet Kerry's vitriol was able to persuade at least one elected official, President Obama. Despite the resounding defeat of Prime Minister Cameron's effort in Parliament, Mr. Obama was going to go at it alone.
That was until yesterday evening when apparently Mr. Obama went for a walk with his senior advisor and changed his mind (NBC News). I can't imagine how frustrated his administration has to be after Secretary Kerry brow-beat everyone into taking action in Syria. This good-cop, bad-cop approach is going to backfire. President Obama is not seen as being particularly strong on foreign policy and defiantly comes in second to his rival Vladmir Putin. I do not want to see the US launch cruise missiles. However, I don't want to see a President who flip-flops on such serious matters seemingly at the turn of a hat.
Kerry supposedly gave these medals back because of how he felt about the war (but more likely because as a Democrat it would not help his chances to get elected if here were seen as a hawk). Contrast though this article on Salon from 2004 where apparently Mr. Kerry still has his medals.
“Do you still have the Silver Star,” I asked Kerry. “Yeah,” he said, “do you want to see it?” My answer was yes. He walked across his study to a secondary desk with clutter on top, mainly books, and opened the top right drawer. This is where he keeps all of his war medals. Salon
Now Secretary Kerry is leading the charge for intervention in Syria. Kerry is certain of the use of chemical weapons by Assad (although reports are now surfacing that it may have been the Syrian rebels who used the chemical weapons). Kerry called Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "a thug and a murderer" and accused his regime of using chemical weapons to kill 1,429 people--ABC
So the war hero first morphs into a "dove" then transforms again into a "hawk". It makes it hard to really take the Secretary's bluster all that seriously. Apparently many in Congress feel equally unimpressed with his arguments. Yet Kerry's vitriol was able to persuade at least one elected official, President Obama. Despite the resounding defeat of Prime Minister Cameron's effort in Parliament, Mr. Obama was going to go at it alone.
That was until yesterday evening when apparently Mr. Obama went for a walk with his senior advisor and changed his mind (NBC News). I can't imagine how frustrated his administration has to be after Secretary Kerry brow-beat everyone into taking action in Syria. This good-cop, bad-cop approach is going to backfire. President Obama is not seen as being particularly strong on foreign policy and defiantly comes in second to his rival Vladmir Putin. I do not want to see the US launch cruise missiles. However, I don't want to see a President who flip-flops on such serious matters seemingly at the turn of a hat.
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