Does the U.S. Understand the World?

The ongoing crisis in the Ukraine has made it readily apparent the United States does not understand the world and the leaders they have to deal with.  This is not a partisan or a Democratic or Republican issue.  Both political parties fail to understand the complexity of the world in a geo-political context.

Far too often the U.S. looks at the world as they wish it was and not the way it is.

In a June 2001 declaration, President Bush looked Vladimir Putin in the eye and “was able to get a sense of his soul”; believing he could work with the Russian leader.

President Obama has a belief that the U.S. has been culpable and overbearing in its approach to foreign affairs and that America needs to step back and lead from behind, and follow this up by negotiating with our adversaries will only make the world safer.

In President Obama’s first Inaugural Address, he stated, “we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist…” referring to adversaries such as Iran, Venezuela and North Korea. He believed that if the U.S. were less confrontational they would be willing to sit down to a peaceful understanding. The president just seems unsure of himself and America’s standing in the world. 

Way before the crisis in Ukraine erupted, world leaders have rebuked the president and allies have been perplexed on the naiveté of President Obama’s approach to foreign affairs.    

Now this is not a rebuke only of President Obama, I would levy a critique of President Bush in his foreign policy approach, but at the present time Obama is president and he alone articulates U.S. foreign policy.

The axiom which both presidents and our foreign policy establishment fail to heed was written by sun Tzu in the Art of War, “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”         

Far too often The United States looks at the world through its own prism and never fully conceptualizes the world as it is.

Does the president or his foreign policy advisors truly understand the mind of Vladimir Putin and how he sees himself and Russia? The same situation manifested itself last September in dealing with the Syrian crisis.

Decisions were made on western time frame, by utilizing a western mind set without contemplating the thought process of a Middle Eastern mindset, and how President Bashar al-Assad views internal and external threats.      

Before the Syrian crisis dominated the headlines, Egypt was at a boiling point, but did anyone take the time to read “Democracy in the Middle East,” written by Egyptian Army Chief of Staff General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi while he attended the U.S. Army War College in 2006?

If they had they would have understood how General el-Sisi viewed democracy in the Middle East and the impact Islam plays in it.

Currently the Obama administration is in the process of working on a settlement to the long simmering Palestinian and Israeli conflict.  This week President Obama met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in his efforts to achieve a desired peace between the two antagonists.  

Unfortunately, the president’s goals are dramatically different from the Israeli Prime Minister.  If the president and his foreign policy advisors would have read his book, “A Durable Peace, Israel and Its Place among the Nations,” the administration would have known the thought process of Netanyahu with regard to peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Netanyahu dictates in a systematic manner how he looks at Israeli security, returning to the Pre-1967 border, and other contentious issues.  The Obama administration would have realized how he viewed the complex issues and the administration could have adjusted his strategy accordingly.  

Too often the United States looks at the world through its own preconceived notion how the world should and should not act. Unfortunately the world leaders and nations will react to their own preconceived strategy, but most importantly their own survival. 

German military strategist famously stated, “No battle plan, survives contact with the enemy.” The enemy has a vote!

World Leaders will do what’s in their best interests, not ours!  We need to remember that.    

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