Does the US government even know how to treat another national government as a coequal rather than either as an enemy or a subordinate? From Moon of Alabama at moonofalabama.org:
The foreign policy of the current U.S. administration is exactly the same as the foreign policy of the previous one. In short: disastrous.
There are dozens of examples: The “maximum pressure’ campaign against Iran continues, the sanctions on Venezuela will be upheld or even strengthened, the bombing of Syria, no change on Yemen and so on.
The problem is that none of these ‘we are tough guys’ policies achieves any purpose.
From the outside world the behavior and tough talk of U.S. officials is seen as juvenile. It demonstrates a lack of knowledge, wisdom and strategy.
Consider these recent headlines about China:
- Blinken Rallies ‘Quad’ Democracies to Counter Assertive China – February 17, Bloomberg
- Blinken warns China against ‘coercion and aggression’ – March 16, Reuters
- Blinken denounces China’s ‘strings attached’ vaccine diplomacy – March 17, Nikkei
- U.S. sanctions 24 Hong Kong and Chinese officials ahead of Blinken’s key meeting – March 17, AP
- Bolstered by allies, Biden officials take blunt message to first China talks – March 17, AP
> The United States will take an uncompromising stance in talks with China on Thursday in Alaska, officials have said, in the first face-to-face meetings between senior officials from the two rivals since U.S. President Joe Biden took office.Beijing has called for a reset to ties, now at their lowest in decades, but Washington has said the Alaska talks will be a one-off, and any future engagement depends on China improving its behavior. <
Then, after days of badmouthing China, it finally dawned on Blinken that he needs China’s help.
