This is no way for a Leader of the US to act.
1. Poles and Polish-Americans expressed outrage today at President Obamas reference earlier to a Polish death camp as opposed to a Nazi death camp in German-occupied Poland.
The White House will apologize for this outrageous error, Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski tweeted. Sikorski said that Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk will make a statement in the morning. Its a pity that this important ceremony was upstaged by ignorance and incompetence.
The president had been trying to honor a famous Pole, awarding a Presidential Medal of Freedom to Jan Karski, a resistance fighter who sneaked behind enemy lines to bear witness to the atrocities being committed against Jews. President Obama referred to him being smuggled into the Warsaw ghetto and a Polish death camp to see for himself.
2. The U.S. Presidents picnic on the physical of his French counterpart is only the latest episode of reports [which are] rather cool at best, at worst frankly tense, said LObservateur newspaper, which called the two leaders the best enemies.
Another French publication said Mr. Obama had chosen to compliment Mr. Sarkozy in a way unique to say the least, before the cameras around the world.
The French celebrity website Staragora said Mr. Obamas comment was risky and not very cool, for the French president [was] humiliated in public.
3. In February 2011, The Daily Telegraph broke a major story with damaging implications for the Special Relationship, revealing that Washington secretly agreed to give the Russians sensitive information on Britains nuclear deterrent to persuade them to sign a key treaty. According to The Telegraph report:
Information about every Trident missile the US supplies to Britain will be given to Russia as part of an arms control deal signed by President Barack Obama next week. Defence analysts claim the agreement risks undermining Britains policy of refusing to confirm the exact size of its nuclear arsenal.
A series of classified messages sent to Washington by US negotiators show how information on Britains nuclear capability was crucial to securing Russias support for the New START deal. Although the treaty was not supposed to have any impact on Britain, the leaked cables show that Russia used the talks to demand more information about the UKs Trident missiles, which are manufactured and maintained in the US.
Washington lobbied London in 2009 for permission to supply Moscow with detailed data about the performance of UK missiles. The UK refused, but the US agreed to hand over the serial numbers of Trident missiles it transfers to Britain.
4. Most insultingly, the Obama administration has sought to intervene in British policy towards the European project. The US Ambassador to London, Louis Susman, has warned Britain that all key issues must run through Europe. According to a report by The Parliament.com, in a private meeting with British MEPs at an event in the European Parliament in January 2011, Susman called for a stronger British commitment to the EU, emphatically warning against British withdrawal:
I want to stress that the UK needs to remain in the EU. The US does not want to see Britains role in the EU diminished in any way. The message I want to convey today is that we want to see a stronger EU, but also a stronger British participation within the EU. This is crucial if, together, we are going to meet all the global challenges facing us, including climate change and security.
5. The Obama administrations relentless campaign against Britains largest company in the wake of Gulf oil spill was one of the most damaging episodes in US-UK relations in recent years, with 64 percent of Britons agreeing at the time that the presidents handling of the issue had harmed the partnership between the two countries according to a YouGov poll.
The White Houses aggressive trashing of BP, including a threat to put a boot on the throat of the oil giant, helped wipe out about half its share value, directly impacting the pensions of 18 million Britons. This led to a furious backlash in the British press, with even London mayor and long-time Obama admirer Boris Johnson demanding an end to anti-British rhetoric, buck-passing and name-calling.
6. Quinnipiac University which showed that US voters disapproved of the presidents Israel policy by a margin of 44 to 35 percent. According to the poll, American voters say 57 13 percent that their sympathies lie with Israel and say 66 19 percent that the president of the United States should be a strong supporter of Israel.
7. In March, the Israeli Prime Minister was humiliated by Barack Obama when he visited Washington. As The Telegraph reported, Benjamin Netanyahu was left to stew in a White House meeting room for over an hour after President Barack Obama abruptly walked out of tense talks to have supper with his family, after being presented with a list of 13 demands.
This is no way to treat Americas closest ally in the Middle East, and a true friend of the United States.
I very much doubt that even third world tyrants would be received in such a rude fashion by the president. In fact, they would probably be warmly welcomed by the Obama White House as part of its engagement strategy, while the leaders of Britain and Israel are frequently met with arrogant disdain.
8. In his Cairo speech to the Muslim world, President Obama condemned Holocaust denial in the Middle East, but compared the murder of six million Jews during World War Two to the occupation of the Palestinian territories, in a disturbing example of moral equivalence:
"On the other hand, it is also undeniable that the Palestinian people Muslims and Christians have suffered in pursuit of a homeland. For more than sixty years they have endured the pain of dislocation. Many wait in refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza, and neighboring lands for a life of peace and security that they have never been able to lead. They endure the daily humiliations large and small that come with occupation. So let there be no doubt: the situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable. America will not turn our backs on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity, and a state of their own.
9. In his appalling speech to the UN General Assembly last September, President Obama dedicated five paragraphs to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, without once referring directly to Palestinian terrorism by name, but declaring to loud applause America does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. He also lambasted the Israeli occupation, and drew a connection between rocket attacks on Israeli civilians with living conditions in Gaza. The speech served as a ghastly PR exercise aimed at appeasing anti-Israel sentiment in the Middle East, while bashing the Israelis over the head.
Do we have any REAL Allies left?