Obama feels he has caused enough chaos in the Middle-East. Millions of people are homeless. Close to a million are dead. Europe is being flooded with refugees looking for a house, a car, a job, and women who want to make sex with horny assholes who don't know how to treat women. Now Obama wants to pivot to Asia and screw that region up even worse before he leaves office:
WASHINGTON – With two rows of sailors standing behind him, President Barack Obama strode along Manila Harbor last November to inspect an aging U.S. Coast Guard cutter that is now the pride of the Philippine Navy.
The vessel was once part of a 12-cutter coast guard fleet known for requiring never-ending maintenance to stay afloat. Now, it is a tangible example of Obama’s attempt to reorient U.S. foreign policy toward Asia and confront Chinese expansion in the Pacific.
The gift of the 50-year-old coast guard cutter shows the difficulty of turning U.S. military and economic focus toward the part of the world Obama believes is most vital to America’s future. A sweeping trade deal with 11 Pacific Rim nations, considered critical to the strategy, is in danger of rejection by the U.S. Congress. And China, the chief U.S. rival in the region, is aggressively pursuing territorial claims and increasing its belligerence toward U.S. friends and allies, including the Philippines, Japan and Vietnam.
“By any stretch, our policy’s failed because China has responded to our coercion with resistance,” said Robert Ross, a Boston College political science professor who specializes in China. “The situation in Asia is clearly worse than it was eight years ago.”
China’s saber-rattling toward its neighbors is in no small measure to blame, and Obama has won important political victories in Asia. They include a deal with the Philippines to base U.S. troops in the country for the first time in more than two decades and a rapprochement between Japan and South Korea, key U.S. allies still harboring animosities left over from the beginning of the last century.
The trade deal, called the Trans-Pacific Partnership, (TPP) would cement an economic alliance between the U.S. and countries ringing China, including Vietnam and Japan, which Obama will visit beginning May 22.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter has said he would prefer the trade agreement over another carrier battle group in the Pacific. Yet the deal is in limbo because even Republican lawmakers who favor free trade do not want to hand Obama a victory in an election year, while much of his own Democratic Party is opposed to it, including presidential contenders Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.
“TPP is the cornerstone of the architecture we’re trying to build in the Asia-Pacific,” said Ben Rhodes, deputy U.S. national security adviser. “It would certainly leave, in our judgment, that work unfinished to not have TPP done.”
Obama’s “pivot” to Asia, as it has come to be known, became formal in November 2011 when he traveled to Hawaii, Australia and Indonesia to announce strengthened economic and military cooperation with U.S. allies in the region. The focus on China was explicit; Obama said that the world’s second-largest economy must “play by the rules” as it developed into a global power.
Obama's 'pivot' to Asia staggers as trade deal stalls, China rises | The Japan Times
WASHINGTON – With two rows of sailors standing behind him, President Barack Obama strode along Manila Harbor last November to inspect an aging U.S. Coast Guard cutter that is now the pride of the Philippine Navy.
The vessel was once part of a 12-cutter coast guard fleet known for requiring never-ending maintenance to stay afloat. Now, it is a tangible example of Obama’s attempt to reorient U.S. foreign policy toward Asia and confront Chinese expansion in the Pacific.
The gift of the 50-year-old coast guard cutter shows the difficulty of turning U.S. military and economic focus toward the part of the world Obama believes is most vital to America’s future. A sweeping trade deal with 11 Pacific Rim nations, considered critical to the strategy, is in danger of rejection by the U.S. Congress. And China, the chief U.S. rival in the region, is aggressively pursuing territorial claims and increasing its belligerence toward U.S. friends and allies, including the Philippines, Japan and Vietnam.
“By any stretch, our policy’s failed because China has responded to our coercion with resistance,” said Robert Ross, a Boston College political science professor who specializes in China. “The situation in Asia is clearly worse than it was eight years ago.”
China’s saber-rattling toward its neighbors is in no small measure to blame, and Obama has won important political victories in Asia. They include a deal with the Philippines to base U.S. troops in the country for the first time in more than two decades and a rapprochement between Japan and South Korea, key U.S. allies still harboring animosities left over from the beginning of the last century.
The trade deal, called the Trans-Pacific Partnership, (TPP) would cement an economic alliance between the U.S. and countries ringing China, including Vietnam and Japan, which Obama will visit beginning May 22.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter has said he would prefer the trade agreement over another carrier battle group in the Pacific. Yet the deal is in limbo because even Republican lawmakers who favor free trade do not want to hand Obama a victory in an election year, while much of his own Democratic Party is opposed to it, including presidential contenders Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.
“TPP is the cornerstone of the architecture we’re trying to build in the Asia-Pacific,” said Ben Rhodes, deputy U.S. national security adviser. “It would certainly leave, in our judgment, that work unfinished to not have TPP done.”
Obama’s “pivot” to Asia, as it has come to be known, became formal in November 2011 when he traveled to Hawaii, Australia and Indonesia to announce strengthened economic and military cooperation with U.S. allies in the region. The focus on China was explicit; Obama said that the world’s second-largest economy must “play by the rules” as it developed into a global power.
Obama's 'pivot' to Asia staggers as trade deal stalls, China rises | The Japan Times
Obama’s Pivot to Asia fails to impress China
Obama’s pivot a shift toward authoritative foreign policy
Obama’s authoritative language stands out. By highlighting that, “as President, I have, therefore, made a deliberate and strategic decision” to rebalance to Asia-Pacific, Obama wanted to demonstrate leadership. Furthermore, by saying “we are here to stay” he emphasised that the Pivot is a strategic project which will not be averted.
He also expressed the American ability to harness new beginnings. Obama admitted that the focus on Asia-Pacific is no small step but “reflects a broader shift” for America away from the Middle East, and pronounced the past decade of fighting over by declaring “the tide of war is receding and America is looking forward to the future”.
The president likened the Pivot to a contest, explaining that “America competes aggressively in Asian markets” but is also bound by rules. He expected other nations to respect fair play. Obama also emphasized that America is a leading investor, and not merely an extractor of resources, clearly a stab at Beijing.
Besides, he maintained that economic growth has to incorporate the will of the people and cannot be imposed.
Obama's Pivot to Asia fails to impress China - GRI Insight
Obama’s pivot a shift toward authoritative foreign policy
Obama’s authoritative language stands out. By highlighting that, “as President, I have, therefore, made a deliberate and strategic decision” to rebalance to Asia-Pacific, Obama wanted to demonstrate leadership. Furthermore, by saying “we are here to stay” he emphasised that the Pivot is a strategic project which will not be averted.
He also expressed the American ability to harness new beginnings. Obama admitted that the focus on Asia-Pacific is no small step but “reflects a broader shift” for America away from the Middle East, and pronounced the past decade of fighting over by declaring “the tide of war is receding and America is looking forward to the future”.
The president likened the Pivot to a contest, explaining that “America competes aggressively in Asian markets” but is also bound by rules. He expected other nations to respect fair play. Obama also emphasized that America is a leading investor, and not merely an extractor of resources, clearly a stab at Beijing.
Besides, he maintained that economic growth has to incorporate the will of the people and cannot be imposed.
Obama's Pivot to Asia fails to impress China - GRI Insight
