Question:
Which foreign nations has Obama snubbed, alienated, insulted or tossed aside?
bwlobo
2010-03-19 04:51:48 UTC
Which foreign nations has Obama snubbed, alienated, insulted or tossed aside?
Eighteen answers:
Turkey Toes
2010-03-19 05:10:49 UTC
he has managed to snub the British prime minister, alienate the president of France, insult the nation of Honduras when it successfully defended its young democracy from a Chavez wannabe, and undercut the people of the Czech Republic and Poland by tossing aside a hard-won agreement to build a missile defense shield.



But in no case has his own arrogance been more transparent than in his treatment of Israel. From its inception, this administration has signaled that it regards Israeli behavior as the chief obstacle to peace in the region. Israel must halt settlements, the president told Prime Minister Netanyahu, or the relationship between the U.S. and Israel would suffer.



Though it received little attention at the time, Obama's rebuke of Israel at the United Nations last October was, particularly in that venue, a deeply unfriendly act. "We continue to emphasize that America does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements," the president intoned. As former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton noted at the time, the use of the phrase "continued" rather than "new" potentially delegitimized every inch of land on which Jews reside. That nuance would not have been lost on the Palestinians, who regard all of Israel as "occupied territory."
2010-03-19 19:12:08 UTC
Australia and Indonesia are Obama's latest victims. He was meant to visit those countries next week for less than 24 hours a piece which was pathetic and now he has cancelled.
2010-03-19 05:04:11 UTC
Definitely, Israel.



It started with Obama allowing himself be photograghed speaking with Israel PM with his feet on his desk and the photo shot feet fist, a huge insult in the middle east.



2nd, Obama refused to see Israel defense minister after he flew here, and waited days to see him.



3rdly, The VP and this admin. siding with Palestine agianst building in the east part of Jerusalem was a HUGE slap in the face to ISRAEL! THE problem is that part of the city houses Palastinian and other arab ethinic groups, Israel wanted to build a 20 story apartment building completely funrished, a massive improvement, however, the residence there where upset that it would also house a few Jewish families.

So, its ok to live in Isarael and prosper in a JEwish country, but Jews in in a apartment building with Muslims is unacceptable?

The real reason Muslims want seperation between the religions is because when shelling starts again, or attacks start again, fellow Muslims won't be killed.



"Westhill" has NO clue to what he is talking about! Israel has moved entire settlements, relocating Jews by force for peace promised, they never got it!
Philip H
2010-03-19 05:29:35 UTC
In a nut shell, Obama snubs or condemns any nation that grants freedom to its citizens and supports any nation that where elitist despots dominate the lives of their subjects.

He wishes he could do the same. He is so much smarter than all of us Serfs.

All praise Lord Obama.
L.T.M.
2010-03-19 07:16:07 UTC
Like someone said, basically our traditional allies and nations struggling to be free, ex: Honduras. Obama is a snake in the grass and the more people realize this the better.
?
2010-03-19 05:15:17 UTC
In this day and age, with the issues that he and his administration faces, I don't think he has "snubbed" or alienated any nation. First, he is beholden to the US and issues that need to be confronted. Sometimes that means that he should not leave the country because he is expected to deal with policies whereby decisions need to be finalized and prioritized. That's why he has a vice-president, secretary of state and various ambassadors that he can designate to act in his behalf. In fact, our relations with most countries have improved since 2009. At least his style is less abrasive than the Bush/Cheney years where whatever advice and counsel an international leader would provide would be discarded and ignored. Obama has to deal with what is most important on his calendar. For this week it is his domestic agenda.
2010-03-19 05:01:33 UTC
Israel insulted the US when Biden came pledging absolute and complete support of their security. He was there to give a boost to peace talks, and Israel slapped him in the face by announcing more settlements. That announcement set back the peace talks. It has been all take and no give with the Israelis, but the US is still their best ally.



Other than that dust up there are no foreign nations which Obama has snubbed, alienated, or insulted other than Iran and N. Korea. He offered Iran a second chance one year ago, but they have continued to oppress dissidents and refine uranium. He is now seeking more aggressive penalties, with no options off the table.
Onlooker
2010-03-19 05:02:52 UTC
None. He's perhaps even more popular than Bill Clinton. Of course, the right-wing governments of Israel and Iran are unhappy with him, but at least in Israel polls show wide support for Obama, much to the dismay of the American right-wing:



http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/19/AR2010031900295.html?nav%3Dhcmoduletmv&sub=AR



Some Israelis have misgivings about Obama, who is cooler to Israel than his immediate predecessors and has made a big effort to reach out to the Muslim world. But a Dialog survey of 499 people on Wednesday and Thursday showed that seven out of 10 Israelis share a favorable view. The poll had a margin of error of 4.3 percentage points.
n9wff
2010-03-19 12:23:00 UTC
America and Israel, for starters.



There are plenty more. Who has time to list and research them all?
~ Libby ~
2010-03-19 07:11:47 UTC
The same ones that Loved him, a year ago!!



They are not stupid.



They can figure-out Disingenuousness, the same as we.



Edit --



For goodness sakes!!



Excuse if I go to my "ARMCHAIR!!" and

ZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..........................
ll_jenny_ll here AND I'M BAC
2010-03-19 04:57:46 UTC
Are you referring to his cancellation of his tour of parts of Asia and Australia?



Surely you know that had he gone .. while this health debate issue continues .. he would have received more condemnation.. he just can't win.....



I'm disappointed that his tour of AU was firstly cut-back.. and then more so when it was cancelled.. BUT even as a foreigner.. I understand domestic Issues (which ever side you're on) should take precident.
2010-03-19 05:01:40 UTC
If they're our allies, Obama thumbed his nose at them. If they are enemy nations or not quite friendly, Obama will do everything he can to capitulate to them.
Armchair Goddess #1
2010-03-19 07:11:23 UTC
With the slight exception of the "alienated" word, the true answer is that President Obama has not snubbed, insulted, or tossed aside any nation on this planet. If you recall, the right-wing cult-evangelicals who seek a theocratic (one-pentecostal-religion) world dominance (see Youth With A Mission/The Family websites, or read Sharlet, 2008; Schaefer, 2007; Goldberg, 2006) claiming ad nauseum (and WRONGLY) that our President Obama was on a world-wide "apology" tour in the first few months of the Obama presidency, you will see that these same religious right-wing GOP fanatics are attempting to say the exact opposite. Don't buy into what they are trying to sell---it is elephant dung sculpted carefully to appear nutritious and delicious.



And now to address the word "alienated" as it relates to our elected leader's American-protecting policies: The very charismatic and brilliant President Obama is an absolute MASTER of diplomacy, in part because he is very sincere. Review his powerfully nuanced Cairo speech and search for all of the hidden messages to world leaders, and perhaps you will begin to discern some of the subtleties of this man's abilities and intellect. China and Israel have been become bullies in recent times, throwing their weight around like giant two-year-olds who reject all forms of discipline or structure if they think they can get away with trying to "rule the roost" so to speak. Under Reagan/Bush and Bush/Quayle presidencies, we somehow lost all our patents to China as well as a vast portion of our manufacturing of the very goods that Americans had invented (Bartlett & Steele, 1990). Unfair (American-worker-hurting) trade practices then became the norm under these two Republican presidencies as China (and Mexico) absolutely flooded our markets with their imports, but China refused (or only minimally accepted) our imports. Israel, on the other hand, takes the United States for granted, assuming we will be too afraid NOT to back them, no matter what harm they insist upon doing in the Middle East, simply because we do not wish to "alienate" Jewish voters come election time. Israel really IS what Iran's President Ahmadinejad claims them to be: The "uninvited guest who has overstayed its welcome"---our CIA, the Zionist Nationalist Movement, and Britain's equivalent of the CIA really did steal Palestinean land to create a "homeland" for Jewish settlers, starting way back in 1922, but then halted due to the three-year Arab uprising legitimately protesting the land-grab. After WWII, however, the resettlement of Jewish people displaced by Hitler's madness resumed, still on stolen land. Long story short, President Clinton brokered a very hard-won peace agreement for a two-state solution (originally proposed by Joe Biden actually) set up between PLO (Palestinean) leader Yassar Arafat and Israeli leader Yitzhak Rabin (both men received the Nobel Peace price that year, I believe, if my memory serves me correctly). Israel agreed to halt any new settlements and to yield back a portion of land to Palestine, and all was tentatively "well" until now, when hardliner Netanyahu decided to just ignore SIGNED peace agreements and steal more land in order to build UNAUTHORIZED settlements, creating terrible unrest in the already volatile Middle East and a diplomatic nightmare for the United States, who is seen as a historical "supporter" of Israel in opposition to the Muslim and Arab world---made even more precarious or dangerous for the U.S. by virtue of being at war (one war illegal) in two Middle Eastern Muslim nations. Israel is wrong to behave as they are in building these current settlements. Like any two-year-old candy-eating bully when a parental authority attempts to impose discipline, Israel is feeling "alienated" by the U.S. right now because we uniformly denounce the building of these settlements, beginning with a gently-stated rebuke in President Obama's Cairo speech that also cautioned Palestineans to not react in violence ("two wrongs do not make a right" message) by quoting from the Muslim's equivalent of the Bible (the Q'uran) regarding the firing of missiles into Israel at night: "The missiles fired at night into Israel kill sleeping children and it is said in the Q'uran that to kill an innocent is to harm the world" (or words to this effect). Israel feels "alienated" by our continued objection to their lawless acts, whereas the Arab world has eased their prior alienation feelings toward the U.S. by virtue of our willingness now, under the Obama administration, to be fair. China has recently been "alienated" by the Obama administration's imposition of an import tariff on their tires, which lasted about a month or so in bullying "pout" and they were then "alienated" again when a firm (strong) President Obama had the AUDACITY (in China's mind) to allow a visit with the Dalai Lama, again rattling sabers and throwing a bit of a temper tantrum trying to prevent this visit from occur
Get out of my pocket!
2010-03-19 07:12:57 UTC
Abandoning allies, Embracing enemies

“If you are a longtime enemy of the United States, count on a grand reception from the Obama administration. All is forgiven and, worse, forgotten,” write Dick Morris and Eileen McGann. “But if you have a track record as an ally or friend, you won’t get the right time of day.”



Of course apologists for Obama & Co. point to “progress” in our foreign policy, ignoring, as Caroline Glick points out, that “America’s betrayal of its democratic allies makes each of them more vulnerable to aggression at the hands of their enemies – enemies the Obama administration is now actively attempting to appease.” Glick lays out the cold hard facts:



•Obama abrogated America’s strategic commitment to the defense of our ally Japan when his administration reacted to North Korea’s ballistic missile test by saying the U.S. would only shoot the missile down if it targeted U.S. territory.

•Obama slapped our ally India when he refused to make ending Pakistan’s support for jihadist terror groups attacking India a central component of its strategy for contending with Pakistan and Afghanistan.

•Obama failed to assure our ally Iraq that democracy and freedom will be secured before U.S. forces are withdrawn next year.

•Obama de facto abandoned our allies in Eastern Europe when he announced his intention to forge a new alliance with Russia. “The Czech, Polish, Georgian and Ukrainian governments,” Glick says, “were quick to recognize that Obama’s strong desire to curry favor with the Kremlin and weaken his own country will imperil their ability to withstand Russian aggression.”

•Obama “is sacrificing the U.S.’s alliance with our ally Israel “in a bid to appease the Arabs and Iran by supporting the immediate establishment of a Palestinian state,” which, Glick warns, “requires Israel to commit national suicide in exchange for `peace.’” Obama also made clear “that from the administration’s perspective, an Israeli strike that prevents Iran from becoming a nuclear power is less acceptable than a nuclear-armed Iran.” In addition, Obama sent Hamas $900 million of foreign aid, “channeled through the UNRWA, a United Nations front filled with Hamas operatives”

•Obama slapped our ally England when he returned the bust of Winston Churchill to Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

•Obama slapped our ally Colombia and its president Alvaro Uribe when he refused to submit the free trade deal with Bogota to the Senate.

“What a great time to be our enemy!” Glick exclaims. “What a terrible time to be our friend!”



And speaking about appeasing Iran, the Obama administration recently asked a federal judge to throw out a $6.6-billion class-action lawsuit against Iran filed by 52 American diplomats and military officials held hostage for more than a year at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran 30 years ago. Nothing like selling out Americans to make brownie points with a bloodthirsty dictator!



Barry Rubin explains: “Friends, especially in Europe, are pleased, applaud, but then add that they don’t have to give this guy anything because he is all apologies and no toughness. They like the fact that he is all carrots and no sticks. If, however, they are states more at risk…they worry that they cannot rely on the United States to help and defend them. Enemies or potential rivals…say that this guy is weak and defeated. He apologizes, offers unconditional engagements, and promises concessions…they’ll eat the carrots and, if possible, their neighbors as well.”



NY Post writer Ralph Peters, a former military intelligence officer, sums up the hate-America core tenets of the “Obama Doctrine” as follows:

(1) We’re to blame,

(2) Problems can be negotiated away,

(3) Problems that can’t be talked out can be bought off,

(4) Islamist terrorism doesn’t exist,

(5) It’s all our fault,

(6) Israel’s the obstacle to Middle East peace,

(7) Our nukes threaten world peace and we need to get rid of them,

(8) Our military is dangerous,

(9) Our intelligence services are even more dangerous than our military,

(10) It’s only torture if we do it, and

(11) Blame President George W. Bush.



Obama is clearly not satisfied with threatening the safety of our tried-and-true allies abroad. He is also determined to undermine the bedrock foundation of America’s security – our military and intelligence agencies. By disclosing interrogation memos – and planning to release photographs associated with military probes into prisoner abuse – he has betrayed every heroic person who risks his or her life for our country, and unforgivably given aid-and-comfort to enemies who seethe with virulent anti-Americanism and lust for our demise. And in the Department of Homeland Security’s infamous memo, he has called members of our military, among others, potential domestic terrorists!



After September 11th, the general outcry was, ‘Why don’t we have better overseas capabilities?’” said Porter Goss, director of the CIA from September 2004 to May 2006. “I fear that in the years to come, this refrain will be heard again. It is certainly not trust that is fostered when intelligence officers are told one day ‘I have your back,’ only to learn a day later that a knife is being held to it.”



How horrifying to contemplate that it is the President of the United States himself who is wielding that back-stabbing knife!



http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/10784
2010-03-19 05:00:09 UTC
The USA ----- BTW ----America is a " foreign nation " to Obama.
MR HENRY S
2010-03-19 04:54:35 UTC
Israel, Poland, Britain
vertical and dangerous
2010-03-19 05:00:21 UTC
Well, could be the ones he chooses not to 'BOW' to!
Quagmire
2010-03-19 04:54:01 UTC
Uh, is there an "All of the Above" option?


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
Loading...