Obama again ditching our British ally

More Diplomatic Incompetence from the Obama Administration

One wonders: does the Obama administration deliberately try to screw up our foreign policy, or is it just a matter of ignorance and incompetence? This is painful reading: "Argentina celebrates diplomatic coup as Hillary Clinton calls for talks over Falklands." Here is a photo of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Argentina's President Fernandez de Kirchner. So much for the idea that foreign relations would be conducted better by women.

Now, on to the news:

Argentina was celebrating a diplomatic coup yesterday in its attempt to force Britain to accept talks on the future of the Falkland Islands, after a two-hour meeting in Buenos Aires between Hillary Clinton and President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.


Responding to a request from Mrs Kirchner for "friendly mediation" between Britain and Argentina, Mrs Clinton, the US Secretary of State, said she agreed that talks were a sensible way forward and offered "to encourage both countries to sit down".


Her intervention defied Britain's longstanding position that there should be no negotiations unless the islands' 3,000 inhabitants asked for them. It was hailed in Buenos Aires as a major diplomatic victory, but condemned in the Falklands.

So, once again, the Obama administration has sold Great Britain, formerly our #1 ally, down the river, along with the inhabitants of the Falklands, whose opinions would seem to count for something. We are past the point where anyone could doubt that the Obama administration's hostility toward the U.K. is intentional. Obama seems to have substituted personal pathology for national policy. The London Times story continues:

Mrs Clinton's meeting with the flamboyant but vulnerable Argentine leader ended amid smiles and laughter. She gave no sign of backing the British position on negotiations, saying instead: "We would like to see Argentina and the UK sit down and resolve the issues between them in a peaceful and productive way. We want very much to encourage both countries to sit down. We cannot make either one do so. We think it is the right way to proceed, so we will be saying this publicly." ...


Ruperto Godoy, the official Argentine government spokesman on the islands, said the new pressure from Mrs Clinton was "very significant, very important" and would help Buenos Aires to force Britain to the negotiating table.


In the Falklands, reaction to the meeting ranged from dismay to fury. "It's outrageous after all the support we have given the United States," said Hattie Kilmartin, a sheepfarmer's wife. "They are not looking at the people who are actually living here and what they want, and it's crazy that they are even contemplating going against us."

I have to agree. It's crazy, but it's also the policy of the Obama administration, where perversity appears to be a virtue.

PAUL adds: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has politely told Clinton what she can do with her offer to mediate. Brown said, "We don't think that's necessary."

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2010/03/025724.php