Israel Matzav

Weakness is not a policy

In an earlier post, I discussed a Zogby poll that finds that despite two and a half years of the Obama administration bashing Israel, the United States is now less popular in Arab countries than it was during President Bush's last year in office.

At London's Daily Telegraph, Niles Gardiner comments (Hat Tip: Memeorandum).

The Zogby poll overwhelmingly demonstrates that weakness and a markedly softer approach to the projection of American global power do not make the US president more popular abroad. In fact they simply strengthen the position of America’s enemies, undermine her effectiveness as a global power, and draw contempt and derision from both friend and foe alike.

Of course, world leadership is not a popularity contest, nor should it be. But it should be deeply worrying for the White House when a genocidal tyrant like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is now viewed more favorably across many parts of the Middle East than the leader of the free world. George W. Bush may not have been loved in the Arab world, but at least he was feared and respected. The removal of Saddam Hussein and the crushing of the Al Qaeda-led insurgency in Iraq demonstrated that America meant business, and that it would be prepared to wield hard power to defend its interests against the enemies of freedom.

There is little evidence, however, that Barack Obama is viewed with fear or with respect in one of the most volatile regions of the world. If anything he is seen as a weak-kneed pushover, with a confused and flailing foreign policy. This will ultimately haunt America as Iran races towards becoming a nuclear power and traditional US allies in the region lose faith in Washington’s willingness and ability to stand with them. The White House’s mantra of ‘leading from behind’ is looking more and more foolish by the day, and the world’s only superpower has fewer friends on its side as it faces an increasingly dangerous array of adversaries.

Indeed.

Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Iranian engagement, Syrian engagement, Zogby poll

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:24 PM