The USA and the UK are supposed to have a "special relationship" which has lasted for a century. President after president has counted on the UK for close cooperation. President Obama has managed to mangle and perhaps destroy that alliance, however.
It began when Obama took office. It started with little, but symbolic things. First, Obama sent back to the UK the bust of Winston Churchill that had been in the Oval Office on loan from the British government. Tossing Britain's great wartime leader out of his office was one of the ways that Obama showed he didn't really care about the UK. A second small signal came when Obama gave a present to Queen Elizabeth II; it was a batch of recordings of Obama's speeches. I doubt whether the Queen really planned to listen to the speeches, but in any event she couldn't. Obama gave the recordings in a format that would not work in the UK. It was just another example of how Obama and his people did not really care much about the UK.
There were more slights as time went by, and they got bigger and bigger.
A few years ago, when Argentina again threatened the British territory of the Falkland Islands, Obama declared the USA neutral in the dispute. Remember that the Falklands were the subject of a war between the UK and Argentina in the early 1980s and that the USA supported our British ally at that time. The islands are the home to people who support staying part of the UK by more than 95%. Obama defied the democratic will of the people of the Falklands as well as the need to support our "special" ally, the UK. It was a major slap in the face to the Brits.
Then there was Brexit. When that vote came about six months ago, Obama decided to interfere in the election. He spoke in Britain of the need for the UK to stay in the European Union and actually threatened Britain with dire consequences if it voted to leave the EU. Obama today is in full melt down mode because Russia allegedly tried to mix into our elections by leaking actual emails that showed the corruption and dishonesty of the Democrats. Foreign nations cannot mix into our country's elections according to Obama. Nevertheless, Obama's direct attempt to influence the British vote on Brexit was much more intense and much more direct interference in the British election than anything that the Russians supposedly did in our vote. His meddling did not go unnoticed.
Earlier this week, we saw the consequences of what Obama has wrought. John Kerry gave a long winded speech about the Arab Israeli situation, and directly criticized the members of the governing coalition that supports Israeli prime minister Netanyahu. Kerry also called for the imposition of his own peace plan on the parties to the dispute.
In a move that surprised the US State Department, prime minister May of the UK condemned Kerry's speech. She said that Britain would not criticize the democratically elected government of an ally. She also said that only direct negotiations between the two side to the dispute could resolve it. it was a total slam of the American position, and it was overt and direct. May did everything short of calling Kerry an ignoramus.
The leader of another close American ally, Australia said much the same thing as prime minister May. Even the Russians said that resolution of the Arab/Israeli dispute could only come from negotiations between the two parties.
During the campaign this past fall, the Democrats constantly criticized Donald Trump for suggesting that NATO needed to change; Trump was accused of ending America's alliances. It's too late for that. obama has already damaged our alliances in major, major ways.
It began when Obama took office. It started with little, but symbolic things. First, Obama sent back to the UK the bust of Winston Churchill that had been in the Oval Office on loan from the British government. Tossing Britain's great wartime leader out of his office was one of the ways that Obama showed he didn't really care about the UK. A second small signal came when Obama gave a present to Queen Elizabeth II; it was a batch of recordings of Obama's speeches. I doubt whether the Queen really planned to listen to the speeches, but in any event she couldn't. Obama gave the recordings in a format that would not work in the UK. It was just another example of how Obama and his people did not really care much about the UK.
There were more slights as time went by, and they got bigger and bigger.
A few years ago, when Argentina again threatened the British territory of the Falkland Islands, Obama declared the USA neutral in the dispute. Remember that the Falklands were the subject of a war between the UK and Argentina in the early 1980s and that the USA supported our British ally at that time. The islands are the home to people who support staying part of the UK by more than 95%. Obama defied the democratic will of the people of the Falklands as well as the need to support our "special" ally, the UK. It was a major slap in the face to the Brits.
Then there was Brexit. When that vote came about six months ago, Obama decided to interfere in the election. He spoke in Britain of the need for the UK to stay in the European Union and actually threatened Britain with dire consequences if it voted to leave the EU. Obama today is in full melt down mode because Russia allegedly tried to mix into our elections by leaking actual emails that showed the corruption and dishonesty of the Democrats. Foreign nations cannot mix into our country's elections according to Obama. Nevertheless, Obama's direct attempt to influence the British vote on Brexit was much more intense and much more direct interference in the British election than anything that the Russians supposedly did in our vote. His meddling did not go unnoticed.
Earlier this week, we saw the consequences of what Obama has wrought. John Kerry gave a long winded speech about the Arab Israeli situation, and directly criticized the members of the governing coalition that supports Israeli prime minister Netanyahu. Kerry also called for the imposition of his own peace plan on the parties to the dispute.
In a move that surprised the US State Department, prime minister May of the UK condemned Kerry's speech. She said that Britain would not criticize the democratically elected government of an ally. She also said that only direct negotiations between the two side to the dispute could resolve it. it was a total slam of the American position, and it was overt and direct. May did everything short of calling Kerry an ignoramus.
The leader of another close American ally, Australia said much the same thing as prime minister May. Even the Russians said that resolution of the Arab/Israeli dispute could only come from negotiations between the two parties.
During the campaign this past fall, the Democrats constantly criticized Donald Trump for suggesting that NATO needed to change; Trump was accused of ending America's alliances. It's too late for that. obama has already damaged our alliances in major, major ways.
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