Does the USA have a Foreign Policy?

Sometimes I wonder if America actually has a coherent foreign policy or if everything gets done as we go along with no concern about the goals we wish to achieve. Here is a good example. Some months ago, the USA announced with great fanfare that it was imposing new sanctions on Iran to force that country to give up its nuclear program. From that day forward, not only would Iran be cut off from trade with the USA, but companies and countries that did business with the Iranian central bank and the Iranian oil industry would likewise suffer sanctions by the USA. Wow, these were heavy duty sanctions that would surely bring Iran to the table, right? Well, not actually. Since the sanctions were passed, president Obama has granted waivers to 12 countries to allow them to continue to buy oil from Iran. Tomorrow, Obama is expected to grant the biggest waiver of them all; China will be told that it can continue to trade with Iran without suffering any sanction from the USA. China is one of the biggest customers for Iranian oil; indeed, China could easily buy all of Iran's output, but Obama is telling the Chinese that they can buy that oil without any effect at all on trade with the USA. Just think about the impact of that waiver. China can now buy all the oil it wants from Iran. Of course, some other countries have cut back on purchases from Iran, so demand for Iranian crude is down a bit. that cut in demand cuts the price of Iranian crude a bit below the world price for oil. That means that China gets to buy oil from Iran at a lower price than everyone else pays for oil elsewhere. That lower energy price gives the Chinese industry lower cost energy than that found in other countries. Are you getting the point? Obama's sanction waiver is giving the Chinese the ability to undercut the prices for American manufactured goods since the Chinese energy costs have been reduced. Let's be totally clear: Obama has given the Chinese a waiver that will slow American economic growth in favor of Chinese economic growth. It is a bone-headed move to say the least. And, let's not forget that by giving China a waiver, Obama has essentially removed all of the sting of the sanctions that were recently put in place.

Does anyone think that Obama actually understands what he is doing? I surely do not.