Obama's 21st-century world order

[babylonsister]

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/mary-dejevsky/mary-dejevsky-obamas-21stcentury-world-order-1936569.html

Mary Dejevsky: Obama's 21st-century world order

His instinct in making foreign policy reflects an ability to see the other's point of view

Tuesday, 6 April 2010

snip//

But his instinct in making foreign policy reflects an appreciation of how the world looks not just from Washington, but from elsewhere. Bill Clinton displayed unusual cultural sensitivity – he was feted in France, which is no easy trick for an American without a Jackie Kennedy in tow – but this derived more from his political genius than from an ability to stand in others' shoes.

From Iran and the Middle East to Russia to China and South America, Obama has shown an acute awareness of the domestic and regional constraints on those he is dealing with, along with an almost unerring facility for pressing the right buttons. Europe may not be in his sights, but he well knows that Europe presents no threat and can safely be left to decide its own level of engagement with the world.

In some places, Obama has been unlucky. Who knows if, with an Israeli prime minister other than Netanyahu or a more united and flexible Palestinian leadership, there might have been advances in the Middle East? In others, his overtures have had a perverse effect. In abolishing the "axis of evil" and appealing direct to Iranians, Obama helped precipitate the turmoil that followed Iran's elections. He had made demonising the US more difficult.

Something similar would apply elsewhere in the region; in North Korea, even in Russia. In hostile territory, Obama has split opinion, between those who still see him as cleverer, and so more dangerous, than his predecessors, and those who are tempted to engage. But none of this negates the evidence of a single mind at work, contemplating a world where the US will be one among several major players.

Choosing arms talks as the forum for "pressing the reset button" with Russia allowed Moscow to negotiate on familiar, and equal, territory. With a degree of trust established, wider cooperation may follow; we shall see when the agreement is signed in Prague this week. And there is a wariness with China, but one that sees Beijing's weakness as well as its strength. It is not cowardice, but pragmatism, that led Obama to delay publication of the currency report until after this month's nuclear summit. Why trigger conflict, if you have the power to fend it off?

In a year of new diplomatic directions, Obama has shaken the kaleidoscope for real, and the pieces are indeed in flux. But his patience is proven, and he will allow them to settle. If there is a moment to be seized, it will be months, even years, down the line. In the meantime, let no one be blind to the scale and world-changing nature of the US project that is evolving before us.

[impik]

1. That's a *terrific* piece. Thanks fro bringing it here