Obama's new foreign policy?

[Accountable]

I heard about this on talk radio and tried to find articles about it online. I couldn't find a single major US news write-up about it. It worries me that our media are so in Obama's pocket that the only mention it gets is jokes. Here's the closest I could find to a serious article:

What Does Barack Obama Have Against Great Britain? - Associated Content

The UK is our greatest ally. I don't think anyone disputes that, yet Obama treated Brown's visit like an unwelcome second cousin dropping in unannounced for dinner. No traditional joint press conference, and thoughtless gifts available at the nearest Wal-mart. The gifts the Gordons brought were rich in forethought and symbolization:

• An ornamental desk pen holder made from the wood of the HMS Gannet, formerly HMS President, whose primary role was stopping the slave trade.
• The framed commission for HMS Resolute, a vessel that came to symbolise Anglo-US peace when it was saved from ice packs by Americans and given to Queen Victoria. The timbers were used to build twin desks, one of which sits in the oval office.
• A first edition classic biography of Churchill
• Top line designer dresses for the children

Obama gave a set of dvd's of classic American movies (still not sure if it was in the right format to play on British a player) and a toy replica of Marine One.

Later a state official said, "There's nothing special about Britain. You're just the same as the other 190 countries in the world. You shouldn't expect special treatment."
Barack Obama 'too tired' to give proper welcome to Gordon Brown - Telegraph

The White House has a staff to find appropriate gifts for such occassions, so I find it hard to believe that this was an accident. So the question becomes, is Obama changing foreign policy as radically as he's changing domestic policy?

[Accountable]

Maybe there really is more to Obama's returning that bust of Churchill.

Barack Obama’s grandfather was imprisoned and brutally tortured by the British during the violent struggle for Kenyan independence, according to the Kenyan family of the US President-elect.

Hussein Onyango Obama, Mr Obama’s paternal grandfather, became involved in the Kenyan independence movement while working as a cook for a British army officer after the war. He was arrested in 1949 and jailed for two years in a high-security prison where, according to his family, he was subjected to horrific violence to extract information about the growing insurgency.

“The African warders were instructed by the white soldiers to whip him every morning and evening till he confessed,” said Sarah Onyango, Hussein Onyango’s third wife, the woman Mr Obama refers to as “Granny Sarah”.

Beatings and abuse made Barack Obama’s grandfather loathe the British - Times Online

I truly hope I'm wrong; or if I'm not, at least that Obama is practical enough to see that the UK isn't "just the same as the other 190 countries in the world."

[Nomad]

Originally Posted by Accountable

I heard about this on talk radio and tried to find articles about it online. I couldn't find a single major US news write-up about it. It worries me that our media are so in Obama's pocket that the only mention it gets is jokes. Here's the closest I could find to a serious article:

What Does Barack Obama Have Against Great Britain? - Associated Content


The UK is our greatest ally. I don't think anyone disputes that, yet Obama treated Brown's visit like an unwelcome second cousin dropping in unannounced for dinner. No traditional joint press conference, and thoughtless gifts available at the nearest Wal-mart. The gifts the Gordons brought were rich in forethought and symbolization:

• An ornamental desk pen holder made from the wood of the HMS Gannet, formerly HMS President, whose primary role was stopping the slave trade.
• The framed commission for HMS Resolute, a vessel that came to symbolise Anglo-US peace when it was saved from ice packs by Americans and given to Queen Victoria. The timbers were used to build twin desks, one of which sits in the oval office.
• A first edition classic biography of Churchill
• Top line designer dresses for the children

Obama gave a set of dvd's of classic American movies (still not sure if it was in the right format to play on British a player) and a toy replica of Marine One.

Later a state official said, "There's nothing special about Britain. You're just the same as the other 190 countries in the world. You shouldn't expect special treatment."
Barack Obama 'too tired' to give proper welcome to Gordon Brown - Telegraph

The White House has a staff to find appropriate gifts for such occassions, so I find it hard to believe that this was an accident. So the question becomes, is Obama changing foreign policy as radically as he's changing domestic policy?

I suppose I would give him the benefit of the doubt at this time. Protocol is an important display among government heads but the timing for a visit may have been if not inconsiderate at least in poor judgement considering the tasks at hand.

[Accountable]

Originally Posted by Nomad

I suppose I would give him the benefit of the doubt at this time. Protocol is an important display among government heads but the timing for a visit may have been if not inconsiderate at least in poor judgement considring the tasks at hand.

Oh good! I thought I was offline, or shunned, or something.

I hope you're right, Nomad. UK is in the same economic boat as we are. Same military boat, too. I think we should help each other bail.

Okay, that metaphor sucks, but I'm tired and trying to multitask.

[Nomad]

I understand Obama is abolishing Coronation Day and moving Wimbledon to Lincoln Nebraska.
He said he can.

[Accountable]

Will he go through with renaming cricket Grasshopper, too?

[Nomad]

Originally Posted by Accountable

Will he go through with renaming cricket Grasshopper, too?

He has that option.
What do you think of Obama sending a video to Iran wishing them a happy new year and hopes for a better future with them ?

[Accountable]

I haven't heard about it. I read a little just now, and I spose it's okay, depending on what he said. Often assertiveness is viewed as weakness, but it's always the best way to go.