Obama Offends Germany
The Obamessiah has decided not to deign to grace Germany with his presence on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The Administration is claiming that it's a matter of other important business:
For its part, the administration is citing a scheduling conflict. The White House says the president simply does not have the time to go, with the trip to Asia starting Wednesday.
"Obviously we have a lot to work on here and we have commitments for an upcoming Asia trip," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Tuesday, noting that a "very senior delegation" of U.S. officials would attend.
("Obama Draws Criticism for Sitting Out Berlin Wall Anniversary," in Fox News, http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/11/08/obama-draws-criticism-sitting-berlin-wall-anniversary/)
This might be plausible were it not for the fact that the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall's fall was an event known and planned well in advance. Obama's staff should have avoided a time conflict like that when they were planning the Asia trip, whose schedule was more flexible.
He can't plead ignorance:
Obama acknowledged the anniversary of the fall of the wall last week during his meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
"We are now moving towards the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall coming down and Germany being reunified after so many painful years," Obama said. "And this is a special moment for Chancellor Merkel, as somebody who grew up in East Germany, who understands what it's like to be under the shadow of a dictatorial regime, and to see how freedom has bloomed in Germany, how it has become the centerpiece for a extraordinarily strong European Union."
He said the U.S.-Germany alliance is an "extraordinary pillar of the transatlantic relationship."
Indeed it is. Germany is a Regional Power who will become a Great Power the moment they decide to build nuclear weapons, which they could probably do so in a matter of weeks after making the decision. The German army and economy are among the strongest in Europe. Germany was once a major center of culture and diplomacy, and might be again someday. Germany is not a country we should be treating as unimportant.
The explanations are, roughly, as follows:
(1) Incompetence at Planning
It is quite posisble, given this Administration's history of similar screwups (such as snubbing Brazil over a scheduling conflict with St. Patrick's Day, see my "Obama Offends Brazil," http://jordan179.livejournal.com/115552.html), that he simply doesn't have a very professional scheduling staff. If so, this implies that Obama is incompetent, since he's been in office over nine months now, and as my earlier article relates, this is hardly the first time that this has happened to him.
If the Europeans believe that this is the reason why he didn't show, it's just going to slightly increase the contempt that the European leadership (and, increasingly, populace) feels for him. This is particularly ironic because they so very badly wanted to see him elected.
(2) Incompetence at Diplomacy
Obama may genuinely not grasp the importance of Germany as an American ally. He has a history of treating our European allies as less-than-vital to our interests (see my "Obama Sends Back Bust of Churchill," http://jordan179.livejournal.com/113890.html, "Obama Unprepared for Foreign Policy," http://jordan179.livejournal.com/115025.html, "Obama Betrays Europe to Russia" http://jordan179.livejournal.com/144024.html) and "A Polish Take on Obama's Betrayal" http://jordan179.livejournal.com/144542.html); in addition, you may remember that he didn't show for the 65th anniversary of the Battle of Normandy celebrations either, thereby offending Britain, Canada and France.
If the Europeans, and in particular Germans believe that this is the reason why he didn't show, it is going to make them angry. The Europeans are very sensitive about their diminished importance in the world since 1945, and a snub like that is practically taunting them to take action to demonstrate that they don't need us either. Obama seems to be making a static rather than dynamic analysis of diplomacy, which means that he is dangerously oversimplifying the situation.
(3) Appeasing Russia
Obama may be attempting to appease the Russians, under the theory that they would be offended if he went to Germany to, basically, crow over America's victory in the Cold War. If so, Obama is a fool, because the Russians respect strength, not weakness (a fact true of many peoples but particularly true of the Russians, as even a cursory study of their history shows). Acting as if he is afraid to offend the Russians by celebrating the liberation of East Germany and of the former Warsaw Pact only communicates to them that he is weak, and can be pushed around on larger issues.
(4) "No Enemy to the Left!"
It cannot have escaped anyone's attention that Obama is the most left-wing American President to serve so far. It is possible that he considers it a shame that East Germany was overthrown, the Warsaw Pact loosed, and the Communist side lost the Cold War. This would of course be at odds with his aforementioned statement to Angela Merkel, but if so it would hardly be the first time Obama has lied through his teeth.
If so, then Obama is dangerously misguided. And it is a sad thing that he is directing our national policy in a time of economic crisis, because the last thing any nation would want for its future would be to walk down the sterile road of socialism.
Conclusion
Once again, Obama has annoyed an American ally for unknown and probably-inadequate reasons. Once again, he's shown himself an incompetent diplomat.
And American influence in the world slips yet another bit.
Aren't you glad that Dubya isn't in office any more?
For its part, the administration is citing a scheduling conflict. The White House says the president simply does not have the time to go, with the trip to Asia starting Wednesday.
"Obviously we have a lot to work on here and we have commitments for an upcoming Asia trip," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Tuesday, noting that a "very senior delegation" of U.S. officials would attend.
("Obama Draws Criticism for Sitting Out Berlin Wall Anniversary," in Fox News, http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/11/08/obama-draws-criticism-sitting-berlin-wall-anniversary/)
This might be plausible were it not for the fact that the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall's fall was an event known and planned well in advance. Obama's staff should have avoided a time conflict like that when they were planning the Asia trip, whose schedule was more flexible.
He can't plead ignorance:
Obama acknowledged the anniversary of the fall of the wall last week during his meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
"We are now moving towards the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall coming down and Germany being reunified after so many painful years," Obama said. "And this is a special moment for Chancellor Merkel, as somebody who grew up in East Germany, who understands what it's like to be under the shadow of a dictatorial regime, and to see how freedom has bloomed in Germany, how it has become the centerpiece for a extraordinarily strong European Union."
He said the U.S.-Germany alliance is an "extraordinary pillar of the transatlantic relationship."
Indeed it is. Germany is a Regional Power who will become a Great Power the moment they decide to build nuclear weapons, which they could probably do so in a matter of weeks after making the decision. The German army and economy are among the strongest in Europe. Germany was once a major center of culture and diplomacy, and might be again someday. Germany is not a country we should be treating as unimportant.
The explanations are, roughly, as follows:
(1) Incompetence at Planning
It is quite posisble, given this Administration's history of similar screwups (such as snubbing Brazil over a scheduling conflict with St. Patrick's Day, see my "Obama Offends Brazil," http://jordan179.livejournal.com/115552.html), that he simply doesn't have a very professional scheduling staff. If so, this implies that Obama is incompetent, since he's been in office over nine months now, and as my earlier article relates, this is hardly the first time that this has happened to him.
If the Europeans believe that this is the reason why he didn't show, it's just going to slightly increase the contempt that the European leadership (and, increasingly, populace) feels for him. This is particularly ironic because they so very badly wanted to see him elected.
(2) Incompetence at Diplomacy
Obama may genuinely not grasp the importance of Germany as an American ally. He has a history of treating our European allies as less-than-vital to our interests (see my "Obama Sends Back Bust of Churchill," http://jordan179.livejournal.com/113890.html, "Obama Unprepared for Foreign Policy," http://jordan179.livejournal.com/115025.html, "Obama Betrays Europe to Russia" http://jordan179.livejournal.com/144024.html) and "A Polish Take on Obama's Betrayal" http://jordan179.livejournal.com/144542.html); in addition, you may remember that he didn't show for the 65th anniversary of the Battle of Normandy celebrations either, thereby offending Britain, Canada and France.
If the Europeans, and in particular Germans believe that this is the reason why he didn't show, it is going to make them angry. The Europeans are very sensitive about their diminished importance in the world since 1945, and a snub like that is practically taunting them to take action to demonstrate that they don't need us either. Obama seems to be making a static rather than dynamic analysis of diplomacy, which means that he is dangerously oversimplifying the situation.
(3) Appeasing Russia
Obama may be attempting to appease the Russians, under the theory that they would be offended if he went to Germany to, basically, crow over America's victory in the Cold War. If so, Obama is a fool, because the Russians respect strength, not weakness (a fact true of many peoples but particularly true of the Russians, as even a cursory study of their history shows). Acting as if he is afraid to offend the Russians by celebrating the liberation of East Germany and of the former Warsaw Pact only communicates to them that he is weak, and can be pushed around on larger issues.
(4) "No Enemy to the Left!"
It cannot have escaped anyone's attention that Obama is the most left-wing American President to serve so far. It is possible that he considers it a shame that East Germany was overthrown, the Warsaw Pact loosed, and the Communist side lost the Cold War. This would of course be at odds with his aforementioned statement to Angela Merkel, but if so it would hardly be the first time Obama has lied through his teeth.
If so, then Obama is dangerously misguided. And it is a sad thing that he is directing our national policy in a time of economic crisis, because the last thing any nation would want for its future would be to walk down the sterile road of socialism.
Conclusion
Once again, Obama has annoyed an American ally for unknown and probably-inadequate reasons. Once again, he's shown himself an incompetent diplomat.
And American influence in the world slips yet another bit.
Aren't you glad that Dubya isn't in office any more?