Is the Bush Administration incompetent in international affairs?

[DanS]

Spiffor: I think we're in agreement on this mostly. Chirac only has a small amount of time to reverse course--about two weeks by my reckoning. And he may have already done too much.

The fact is that the US can't really do anything to hurt France, so there's no downside to this for Chirac.

Frogger: Not directly, no. However, more than any other permanent member, the bulk of France's power is invested in the Security Council. If Bush goes to war without the backing of the Security Council, then the relevance of the Security Council is diminished. This would ultimately hurt France's power. There would be a cost to Bush, of course.

[Agathon]

Hijack my thread!!!!!!!!

Grrrrrrr.

Bush is an incompetent lunatic - discuss.

[KrazyHorse]

[Alexander's Horse]

Its painfully obvious the Bush Administration lacks foreign policy experience. Its hard to see how they could have screwed up international relations more than they already have but they keep surprising everyone with new lows of incompetence and spectacular foreign policy debacles.

Their motto seems to be if you see a bridge burn it. They only take their foot out of their mouth long enough to cram the other foot in there. They really seem to have no idea how to get what they want internationally, hence the hopeless megaphone diplomacy, the ridiculous B Grade Western rhetoric and the crude bully boy tactics.

Many Americans have been patriotically defending their government against international criticism but sooner or later they will tire of it. No American likes to see their country become an international laughing stock, a pariah state with missiles. Of course after Iraq things started getting beyond the joke. And when you start making Saddam Hussein look like a sympathetic figure you know your foreign policy is in the toilet. Why the US made its foreign policy and all its international relationship hostage to dealing with an insignificant flea like Saddam Hussein I'll never know.

Of course I'll be accused of being anti-American, which I'm not, but the oafishness is getting really pitiful to watch.

Someone should tell Bush the world isn't Texas and to get some half decent staff pronto, starting with a decent Presidential speech writer.

No more born again Christians for President please.

[CerberusIV]

The impression I am getting is that Bush (even more than Reagan) lives in a B movie western and wants to be the guy in the white hat. That means finding someone in a black hat to shoot. If so, then his foreign policy is, sadly, brilliant since he is successfully manufacturing a series of enemies.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by DanS
Q^3: On the contrary, Bush is pushing a multilateral approach, which is correct. Japan especially has interests there, which should be represented. This SK policy of triangulating between NK and their ally, the US, is a real dog.

This clearly illustrates the problem with W's foreign policy, something his supporters don't understand.

He is pushing an approach which the two principle party involved don't want. He thinks his solution is better, which means he lives in a world of his own. He doesn't want to see things from other people's view, let alone care. This doesn't make a very good diplomat.

[Drake Tungsten]

Its painfully obvious the Bush Administration lacks foreign policy experience.

I can't think of a US administration that has had more foreign policy experience than the current one. Nice try, Horsie.

[Alexander's Horse]

Yeah nice try Drake but half world is laughing at your government and the other half sees Bush as an evil Hitler-like demagogue who must be stopped. That must be pretty hard to take for an American.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten

Its painfully obvious the Bush Administration lacks foreign policy experience.

I can't think of a US administration that has had more foreign policy experience than the current one. Nice try, Horsie.

Who has this experience in the carbinet?

[Drake Tungsten]

Who has this experience in the carbinet?

Rumsfeld and Cheney alone have more experience than most administrations. Powell and Rice aren't rookies either. I don't even need to get into the lesser members of the foreign policy team.

Yeah nice try Drake but the whole world is laughing at you. That must be pretty hard to take for an American.

It doesn't really bother me that much. The world has looked down on Americans for most of our history, but who came out on top? We must be doing something right...

[Chemical Ollie]

It tells us something about a country when the most incompetent leader is also the most popular ever. And not because of what he did but because of what some lunatics with furniture knifes did.

[CerberusIV]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten The world has looked down on Americans for most of our history, but who came out on top? We must be doing something right...

The world has tolerated Americans for most of your history. In the last 100 years they have mostly tolerated your money. Care to bet how long it can go on for?

[Alexander's Horse]

It really worries me the way America is going. Its tragic to see a great country sink so low in the eyes of the world.

[Drake Tungsten]

In the last 100 years they have mostly tolerated your money. Care to bet how long it can go on for?

We have the largest economy in the world by a large margin. I'm confident that this will be the case for quite some time.

[CerberusIV]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten

In the last 100 years they have mostly tolerated your money. Care to bet how long it can go on for?

We have the largest economy in the world by a large margin. I'm confident that this will be the case for quite some time.

The average "man in the street" in England in the 1860's thought much the same. I expect to see the US cease to be a dominant global superpower in my lifetime, Bush is just accelerating the process.