When Germany and France fomented the European Union, the not-so-secret agenda was to counter the seemingly monolithic economic, military and political power of the United States through the combination of Europe into a single national force. Today, both such nations are watching their economies undermined by the weakest members of that union – countries like Greece and Spain whose financial woes are dragging down the euro and the fiscal integrity of the entire continent. Japan veered severely away from towing the American line – as recently elected Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama pledged to terminate the U.S. military base on Okinawa – but were forced to reverse such negative policies and accept a continuing military presence on that Japanese island following the increased militantism of North Korea. Hatoyama resigned on June 2nd because he broke his election promise. Brazilian President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, to show his independence from the overly-domineering American policy umbrella cast over Latin America, recently brokered an agreement between demon Iran and the Turkey over spent nuclear fuel rods.
See the trend? Not only are the traditional powers – China and Russia – tugging away at U.S. political preeminence, so is absolutely everybody else. As our economy portends a longer-term erosion of everything we have built and stand for, as the precipitous decline of our educational standards suggest that the United States cannot continue to provide global leadership even in the not-so-long term, our enemies and allies alike are pulling away and leaving us increasingly isolated. There are lots of nuclear powers these days as well as many countries (like the BRIC nations – Brazil, Russia, India and China) with stellar growth – even with momentary blips and bubbles – in their future. Even with 30% of the global economy, the U.S. value proposition is apparently dropping like a stone tossed off a high mountain.
To make matters increasingly worse, America is linked to every move or transgression that Israel foments as its exceptionally hard line Likud government plays a very rough game. Israel, even more isolated than the United States, is surrounded by hostile neighbors – some with menacing nuclear weapons near final development – who would like nothing more than to drive her into the sea. The United States has been there for this tiny nation, through thick and thin, and frankly, for the most part, Israel has been our most reliable ally in an otherwise tumultuous region. Israel’s recent policies – from harsh military action to permitting the construction of even more Jewish communities in the middle of the Palestinian West Bank – have driven a deeper wedge between the United States (which is blamed for everything that Israel does) and the rest of the world, most of which has condemned these hard line trends.
Israel’s May 30th violent interception of a relief convoy headed for Gaza (which departed from the Turkish section of Cyprus) – where 9 people (including an American) perished on a Turkish ship (the Mavi Marmara) – is a diplomatic nightmare, particularly for the United States. The mourning is particularly and obviously intense in Turkey, where Palestinian sympathies are on the rise as is a general expansion of a huge pro-Islamic political faction in what was once a highly-secular nation. The big loser in all of this is the United States… Turkey has been America’s highly strategic NATO ally in its heavy engagements against Middle Eastern Islamist militancy. The June 5th AolNews.com: “The 2009 Pew Global Attitudes Project found that only 14 percent of Turks viewed the United States favorably, the lowest percentage of any of the 25 countries surveyed. In comparison, 19 percent held a favorable view of Iran…
“As Turkey furiously mourns its dead from the Israeli commando assault on the Mavi Marmara, the political transformation the country has undergone in recent years has never been so apparent. Once prized as NATO's stalwart eastern flank against the communist threat, Turkey now sees its red flag raised by thankful Palestinians in Gaza and its diplomacy praised by Iran. … Though materiel for U.S. troops in Iraq still arrives from a base in southern Turkey, the NATO member increasingly seeks its own solutions for international issues instead of toeing the line set forth by the West. Last month Turkey joined Brazil in negotiations with Iran over its uranium enrichment program, a move that ran counter to the sanction-seeking U.S… [The political transformation of Turkish attitudes] has been under way for many years, of course, wrought by the end of the Soviet Union, two unpopular U.S.-led wars in neighboring Iraq and the 2002 election of the pro-Islamic Justice and Development Party, or AKP. But the current crisis underscores the depth of Turkey's alienation from the West, which goes far beyond righteous outrage at the plight of the Palestinians.”
On June 5th, another relief ship – this one of Irish registry – was bordered by Israeli sailors and diverted from Gaza to an Israeli port, this time without bloodshed: “On [June 4th], the Israeli and Irish governments reached an agreement to unload the vessel’s cargo in Ashdod, in southern Israel, and transport it to Gaza, but the group sponsoring both this ship and the Turkish flotilla, the Free Gaza Movement, rejected the deal.” NY Times (June 6th) . The cargo was off-loaded, the passengers detained, but the goods will eventually make their way over land to Gaza.
As Turkey cozies up to Iran and embraces the Palestinian movement, Americans squirm nervously. “‘The Americans, no matter what they say, cannot get used to a new world where regional powers want to have a say in regional and global politics,’ said Soli Ozel, a professor of international relations at Bilgi University in Istanbul. ‘This is our neighborhood, and we don’t want trouble. The Americans create havoc, and we are left holding the bag.’… It is Mr. Erdogan’s confrontation with Israel, which he accused of ‘state terrorism’ in the flotilla raid, that raised the loudest alarms for Americans. Many see his fiery statements as a sign that he has not only abandoned the quest to join the European Union, but is aligning himself with Islamic rivals of the West.” New York Times (June 8th). With overwhelming popular support, there are a few in Turkey with a slightly different perspective: “‘The world hasn’t changed in 48 hours just because a boat was raided,’ said Asli Aydintasbas, a columnist for the Turkish daily Milliyet. ‘Ankara thinks it is remaking the world, but in the long run this could backfire.’” Or not…
We’re used to dictating our political needs by sheer force of military and economic power; those days are slipping away. Can we adapt to this transformation, accepting divergent opinions and avoiding attacking sensibilities of those who are different, as a tolerant and diplomatic country in partnership with others… or are we destined to remain cowboys in a world where cows are no longer in vogue? Houston, we have a problem…. Yee ha? Do we really enjoy being the number one target on earth?
I’m Peter Dekom, and we better figure out this sympathy/empathy thing before we are truly isolated with no one but our deficit-inducing military budget to get our way.
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