It Will Probably Get Easier For Us To Get Along With Our Allies, The Fewer We Have

Remember how candidate Obama promised improved relations with US allies?

Walter Russell Mead gives a rundown about how the Obama administration done so far to accomplish that goal:

[T]he pattern of poor relations with close allies is disturbing. Currently embroiled in a quarrel with Israel over Jewish housing construction in East Jerusalem, the administration recently angered the EU by refusing to attend a summit in Madrid, embarrassed Britain by seeming to side with Argentina over negotiations over the Falklands Islands, canceled an invitation to Afghanistan’s President Karzai, and cheesed off Brazil when President Obama made his last minute, ill-fated dash to Copenhagen to snatch the 2016 Olympics from Rio. And where the administration hasn’t figured out a way to insult an old ally, Congress steps in — this time by passing another version of the Armenian genocide resolution through a key House committee.

And the result?

The EU powers are not exactly leaping to Washington’s support on Afghanistan. A British parliamentary committee has just pronounced the US-UK special relationship over. Brazil’s President Lula da Silva publicly rejected Secretary Clinton’s public request for support for a sanctions resolution at the UN. Turkey is flirting with Iran and hanging out with Russia. For now, at least, the Israelis are resisting Washington’s pressure for a freeze on new construction in Jerusalem.

And by the way, how is that policy of negotiating with our opponents going?

The policy of slapping friends seems not to be working very well; the policy of kissing up to the bad guys has been even less of a success. North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela and Iran have blown off the administration’s efforts to put bilateral relationships on a friendlier basis.

Read the whole thing.

Oh well--at least Obama can always go back to beating up our allies!

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