Based on conventional knowledge, the following countries have been some
of the closest allies of United States (in no particular order):
-
Canada
-
Israel
-
Saudi Arabia
As situation stands today, the
above countries are feeling frustrated, upset with and mistrustful of United
States. Let’s look at each of them why this is so:
Canada: There are very
close ties between the US and Canada in terms of trade (NAFTA), cultural
relationship and military cooperation/alliance, e.g., NORAD. At international
level, Canada and the US share membership of G-7, G-20, Asia-Pacific economic
cooperation and many more. Canada is a stable, democratic country and, arguably,
has been a trusted friend/partner of the US since the World Wars. But in the recent past, the actions on part
US have been continually demonstrating huge negativity toward Canada. The main fly in the ointment has been the pipeline projects
that emanate from Canada and end up inside the US, especially, the Keystone XL
project. This project is being evaluated by US authorities for the last
5 years – and President Obama, for some strange reason, has made this project
as a scapegoat of his pro-environment stance.
It is okay to be worried about global warming but to hold clearance of a
pipeline project (which is supposed to transport only 830,000 bbl/day of bitumen
from Canada) on the premise that it would be cleared only if it does not
‘significantly add to GHG emission’ is
utterly nonsensical. That this notion was indeed utterly stupid has been
corroborated by the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the
2012 Presidential Permit application for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline,
issued by the US State Department on 31st January 2014. One has to be an outstandingly stubborn moron to not approve
this project which is clearly not going to have any significant impact on environment. Remember, on this
project a lot hinges as far as Canadian economy is concerned. As well, mind you, Canada is far stricter in terms of
environment regulations than the various countries, like, China, who are
dumping huge amounts of GHG.
It is simply Obama’s
obstinacy, and perhaps nothing else, which is standing in the way of approval
of this project. The question is: Why should US display this kind of obstinacy,
and consequently sour up relations with a trusted partner, especially, at a
time when US is increasingly finding it reduced in stature and/or ineffective
in various current international scenarios? US is being snubbed, rebuked, ignored, shown the middle finger by
friends and foes alike – whether it is
Syrian crisis or Ukraine upheaval or the China/Japan tension over Senkaku/Diaoyu islands. Instead of having a trusted friend, like, Canada alongside at
this juncture, the US would appear to be willy nilly hell bent on screwing up
that nice, warm, cordial relationship. And for what? Just to placate a small
section of democrat supporters who anyway are so fanatical that it is
impossible to reason out with them on environment issues? Whether this fanaticism is based on some quid
pro quo and/or some sort of incentivizing, that’s a separate matter? But this
motley crowd is too small a cause for which a long standing, time tested friendship
should be sacrificed!! But, unfortunately, then, the dithering Obama has
allowed himself to be led by his nose by this motley crowd, or, so it seems!
Israel: Ties between
Israel and the US are historic in nature and the Americans have always let the
world know from the roof tops that US is the closest ally of Israel. But of late, the policy trajectories the current US
administration seem to be following with respect to Middle East and Iran have been irritating Israel more than anything else. They seem to be so pissed off
that recently the Israeli Defense Minister rebuked John Kerry in one of the
strongest languages rarely seen in diplomatic talk and certainly unheard of
between these two countries. Again, the question
to ask would be: Why the hell US is doing this? Is it because the chip Obama
carries on his shoulder – the Nobel Peace Prize? Is it because he wants to
leave a legacy of a peace-maker even if it means steam rolling over Israel’s
concerns? The US policy on Iran
has also riled up Israel. Reason? Because, the Israelis maintain that it is
absolutely unclear whether the agreements with Iran can REALLY be verified. Moreover, Russia has already started providing financial succor to Iran which would thence
enable it to negotiate from a relatively stronger position than before.
It is clear that the US is
almost beseeching the heavens for some kind of face saving agreement with Iran
because of its virtual financial bankruptcy and inability to fight another war. But, from
Israel’s perspective, these constraints should not conspire to dump an
agreement on the concerned parties (i.e. Israel, Saudi Arabia) which they are
not comfortable with. The back channel talks between the US and Iran in Oman
did not go down very well with the above-mentioned two countries.
Further, Iran is known to be
experts in double speak – this coupled with the embarrassing inability of US
intelligence to monitor things within Iran renders overseeing, policing and
enforcing any agreement with Iran completely doubtful and useless. No wonder, Israelis are concerned and incensed over American
unilateralism and head in the sand approach. The Israelis see this as, again,
an obstinate Obama’s desperate attempt to achieve something, which his
Republican predecessor could not, and pat his own back (and have some
material for the so-called historians to write later).
One can’t say for sure what the outcome will be of the above mentioned
efforts of the US in the Middle East, but one thing is
for sure, their relations with Israel (and Saudi Arabia) have hit unprecedented
low. The US has succeeded in pissing off one their much avowed closest allies
in the region. And, what is the real gain for the US in all this? Have they
(the Americans) accounted for the loss of trust equity in all this?
Saudi
Arabia: This close ally of the US is terribly upset because of Syrian policy
followed by President Obama. The Saudis
are so upset that Obama is travelling to that country in March to mend
relations. The Saudis’ actions in the Syrian theater have apparently made it clear to the US that the Saudis can play spoil
sport in Syrian imbroglio and without their support some of the anti-Assad
factions can NOT be corralled. The Saudis are also upset over the way
the US is handling the Iran matter. They see this is an attempt by the US to
counterbalance their (Saudis) Sunni influence in the region. They have also not
liked the US’s stance and countenance vis-à-vis Qatar’s activities in Syria and
Egypt.
Clearly, the Obama
administration has ended up screwing up relations with another of its close
ally by following some policy trajectories which are not only seeming to be
ineffective but giving more time to the adversaries of Saudi Arabia and Israel
in recovering/recouping – this applies to the current regimes in Syria and Iran. This does not
bode well from Israel’s and Saudi’s perspective; obviously, they are badly cut
up with the Obama administration.
Summary: The current US administration has probably forgotten that
loud talks mean nothing in international diplomacy if they can’t be demonstrably
backed up by force. The US is
being increasingly perceived to be a groveling patsy – be it with respect to Iran,
China, or Syria issue – trying to further its own interests without bothering
whether or not it destroys time-tested relations with some of its closest
allies. US is also being perceived as someone who
starts with a loud mouth but ends up in a whimper with no matching guts to
provide any teeth to their big pronouncements (“Syria has crossed a red line”,
the famous line Obama spoke!). No wonder Kerry is at pains to explain, time and
again, in international forums that US is not retreating from global issues.
Clearly, the current administration’s
policies towards Canada and Israel in particular have been baffling to say at the very best and bull-headed at the worst. Obama and his cronies have been continually needling these two countries
on some frivolous and some not so frivolous pretexts. In all this,
what has the US achieved? Not only it is risking serious damage to the friendly
relations with these two countries, it is sowing seeds of deliberate
miscalculations in its policy making which could potentially backfire on the US
in the long run. Is it sign of intelligent policy
implementation strategy or sign of a stubborn gutless loser who is desperate to leave
behind some legacy which he can trumpet about later as unprecedented
achievements never mind even if they came
at the cost of screwing up long standing friendships, or bringing NO REAL
benefit to the US over the longer term?
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