News Flash: Israel Is Not The Only Country Wary Of Obama

Foreign Policy gives a list of 7 countries that have reason not to be happy with the Obama Administration:

1. Canada. Though Canada was supposed to be exempted from [the Buy American legislation that Obama signed into law with the stimulus bill] by an amendment recognizing U.S. obligations at the WTO and NAFTA, the Canadians are very upset about the way the measure has been implemented.

2. China. China is expressing substantially more concern about U.S. economic behavior than they did under the Bush administration. China is worried about the sustainability of U.S. deficit spending and what it will do to their trillions in dollar reserves.

3. Colombia. The Obama administration has done nothing to pass the Colombian Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The Colombians have been very explicit about how important the agreement is to them economically.

4. Honduras. Whatever the merits of the argument over President Zelaya's ouster, in January we were getting along with them quite nicely.

5. Panama. Not only has the Obama administration teased the Panamanians with intimations of FTA [Free Trade Agreement] passage that were later retracted, it has annoyed them with a never-ending series of requests to remove obstacles to the already-signed accord.

6. South Korea. The [FTA] agreement was wildly controversial in Korea and the government ran serious risks by promoting it. They can hardly appreciate the way it has been placed in purgatory, particularly given the irony of the principal U.S. objection: Korean interference in its auto market.

7. The United Kingdom. [A] series of Obama nubs (the Churchill Bust bust, wrong-region DVDs, an iPod for Her Majesty) led some in the British press to ask how special the special relationship still was. The scales tip in favor of inclusion because the British have some of the same trade concerns as the Canadians.

Only seven countries? Barry Rubin thinks Foreign Policy was just being modest:

Russia: The government there has contempt for Obama. He isn't so popular among the public either. U.S.-Russia relations stable under previous administration though hardly warm are deteriorating.

Central Europe: Former top leaders of the Czech Republic, Poland, Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and the Slovak Republic expressed worry about the Obama administration's lack of support for them and fear it would cave into Russian demands.

Georgia and Azerbaijan could probably be added to that list. Possibly Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrghziistan, and Turkmenistan could be included.

Gulf Arabs: Saudi Arabia, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar, worried about Obama's engagement policy with Iran.

Lebanon: Worried about Obama's engagement policy with Syria.

Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia: Worried about Obama's possible engagement policy with Islamists.

Aside from Jordan, I don't think there's any moderate Arab country that seems ecstatic Obama is president.

Asia: South Korea is worried that Obama won't defend it from North Korea, as well as U.S. trade protectionism; Japan about management of the economy. The trade issue also applies to other Asian states, like Thailand, who's well-being depends to a large extent on exports to the United States.

Iran: Has Obama really improved relations? The Iranian regime mistrusts him. Even if you argue that it fears engagement, well ok that means it is still made more nervous by Obama's policy.

Even in cases where governments "like" Obama--notably Europe and especially France--don't they do so precisely because they think they can walk all over him?

That same criterion could also be applied to radical and anti-American regimes: North Korea, Cuba, Bolivia, and Venezuela.

And is Latin America in general really on better terms with the United States than a year ago?

Of course, it's not as if Obama's popularity has diminished everywhere:

As for sub-Saharan Africa, Obama's popularity no doubt benefits from the fact that he is an actual direct African-American. No doubt, it hopes for dramatically increased help and attention from America.

Other enthusiasts might be Turkey (whose current government, however, is no warm friend of the United States), Australia (because it has a Labour government), Pakistan (on which the administration is lavishing money), aforementioned European states, and a few others.

But that overall picture is still hardly one of universal improvement, certainly not a springtime for American diplomacy.

Read the whole thing.

But to be fair, Obama is barely through the first half of the first year of his term.
...Things could get worse.

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