Obama's Unilateral Foreign Policy, a far cry from Bush's Multilateral Approach

Yesterday I cited an article from Reuters which stated that the British government had expressed anger over the Obama administration's decision to release 4 Uighur detainees from Guantanamo bay into the Caribbean island of Bermuda, a British overseas territory.

The Reuters piece went on to say that "in a sign of the sensitivity of the issue, the State Department said U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton discussed the matter with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband on Thursday. However, Reuters added "when asked if U.S. authorities had consulted the British government, [a State Department] official said: "We did talk to them before the Uighurs got on the plane."...

Heh...

Today the Guardian UK writes:

Taken by surprise by news of the Uighurs arrival, Britain's foreign secretary, David Miliband, is understood to have had an uneasy telephone conversation with the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, about why London was not told...

A senior Labour MP accused the US of "riding roughshod" over British legal rights in pursuit of its own interests.

"The proper authority here is the British government and the US should have consulted with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office before they did anything of this kind," Mike Gapes, the chairman of the Commons foreign affairs committee, told BBC Radio 4's The World at One.

"I wonder what promises have been given to the Bermudans, potentially about going a bit soft on the tax haven status or something else as a quid pro quo."

Well, Mr Gapes, I'm sure you are aware of the cash handouts that Obama is handing out to Bermuda. If not, you can read my previous post for more information on the whole quid pro quo deal.

Apparently, Mr Obama has decided to take a unilateral approach with regards to his foreign policy decisions, clearly straying from the multilateral approach of his predecessor George W. Bush, who closely coordinated his foreign policy decisions with America's long-time European allies.

Ah yes, but who can forget what Obama said back in April at a town hall speech in Strasbourg, France:

Mr. Obama directly addressed the strain between America and Europe over the past several years, saying the relationship has drifted...

"In America, there's a failure to appreciate Europe's leading role in the world… there have been times where America's shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive," he said... "I've come to Europe this week to renew our partnership."

"Renew our partnership"? Heh....

Oh, and here's another interesting quote from Obama's speech:

"I think it is important for Europe to understand that even though I am president and George Bush is not president, al Qaeda is still a threat."

Nevertheless, now that Obama is president, the four released Uighurs - who once trained in Osama Bin Laden's camps in Tora Bora - are apparently no longer a threat.

Aren't you glad Mr. Bush is no longer president?

Obama has "rebooted our image" abroad, eh?

Praise the Messiah!

From a March 2008 article in the Telegraph UK, entitled, 'Barack Obama 'will repair image of US in UK':

America needs to work hard to regain the trust of the British public..., a senior adviser to Barack Obama says today.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Samantha Power, who is a key member of the Presidential hopeful's foreign policy team, says... "a restoration of trust will have to occur between the US Government and the British public... People still want to believe in the USA."

The "special relationship" between Britain and America would, she believes become stronger if Mr Obama won the White House because he would make voters in this country warm to the United States.

"Obama reminds people of the better angels of America," she said.

Mr Obama would also try to heal the divisions between Europe and America, caused by the war in Iraq. "Obama can go door-to-door in Europe and say, 'Look like you I opposed the war in Iraq but what are we going to do together about Al Qaeda?'"

Why not send the entire Al Qaeda organization to Bermuda, all expenses paid? [Without informing our British allies, of course.] Eh?

The United States must show more respect for international institutions, she adds. "We have to show that we know we can't do it alone...

Ahem....

If Mr Obama wins the Presidential race [Samantha Power] is likely to remain a powerful force.

"I'd do anything he asked me to do," she said. "It's not about working for the next President of the United States, it's Obama. If he ran General Motors I'd be working for him."

Little did she know at the time, Obama would soon be running General Motors and would eventually become GM's de facto CEO.

Sigh.......