this post was submitted on 11 Feb 2024
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[–] [email protected] 74 points 11 months ago (10 children)

Headline should read, "American allies worry the US is growing less dependable, because of Republican House insurrectionists"

[–] [email protected] 46 points 11 months ago

No, the headline correctly expresses the sentiments of foreign leaders about american stability, regardless of the outcome of our elections.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 11 months ago (2 children)

That's a major part, but the key problem IMO is that the USA has shown multiple times that a change in president can be enough to shatter existing promises and expectations. Even if we got the most progressive, effective president in the history of our nation, anything they accomplished could be undone by a single change of admin.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

That’s a major part, but the key problem IMO is that the USA has shown multiple times that a change in ~~president~~ leadership can be enough to shatter existing promises and expectations.

FTFY

The US is fighting to even pay it's own debts because of the political grabass going on in the Legislative branch and who knows now what the Judicial branch is going to throw up to change. The President is just the most visible change.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

Valid point, thank you for the correction.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

It's mostly just that one time. Usually foreign policy continues from where it left off much to the chagrin of the voting base who wants it all to change overnight. And this is because of the reason you stated, you don't want to break promises to other countries or everyone will thing the US is unreliable and that's bad for the US. Sure foreign policy can be turned and start slowly moving on a different path, but that has to happen over time.

Trump is the real outlier. He simply doesn't understand foreign policy, thinks of everything as a money deal. His incredibly corruption on foreign policy led to him being impeached the first time. Causing rifts within NATO. Legitimizing North Korea by having a summit. Gushing over how great various authoritarians are. Ended anything Obama did out of spite. Cancelled Obama's deal with Iran, which looked like a prelude to war because that's what it would be if the US had competent foreign policy.

In the first months of Trump's Presidency when he was putting out aggressive statements about certain countries (usually on Twitter) countries would put their militaries on alert. After awhile no one bothered. The US simply didn't have a leader anyone took seriously.

This is the reason for Biden's statement that "America is back." But unfortunately the US Congress is blocking funding that's needed for Ukraine, which would normally be a no-brainer in terms of foreign policy interests of the US. Usually something like that would go through with as a bipartisan thing with little to no negotiation necessary. Because it's in the best interests of the US to fund Ukraine's war effort against Russia, an adversary of the US. But it's blocked, because the GOP willing to sabotage the US in their effort to sabotage Biden.

So a Biden second term will mean the US isn't saying insane things anymore, but really can't be relied upon as it used to.

A Trump second term? Chaos. Not even sure the US can survive another Trump term, let alone be relied on for anything.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago

If you think that’s the only foreign policy issue America has, you might be wasting your money on that subscription to “The Atlantic”

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[–] [email protected] 50 points 11 months ago

Someone should talk to the Kurds in Iraq. We have been undependable for a long long time

[–] [email protected] 38 points 11 months ago (6 children)

Good honestly. The world needs to stop using America as a cure-all solution.

Weapons are evil, oil is bad, neo liberalism is terrorism and capitalism is slavery. Knock it all off

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[–] [email protected] 24 points 11 months ago (2 children)

To be fair, a multipolar world is fine. It's not in our, or anyone else's really, interests to try to dictate to other overseas peoples how they should structure their lives and governments. We did give it a shot, make no mistake, but it doesn't tend to work out all that well.

We have no ability to stop the rise of places like China and India though, so fine, rise. We'll only run into problems if this whole "spheres of influence" thing makes them think they can attack someone we have a security treaty with. That would be a problem.

You want to use economic or social power instead of military power though? Try to convince people instead of force them at gunpoint? Fine. No big deal. These methods honor their freedom. That's a multipolar world we can work with.

[–] sbv 22 points 11 months ago (6 children)

In principle I agree, but the other poles are fucking with "us" though. Let's define "us" as the NATO-aligned countries.

India is offing political dissidents in Canada and the US (that's an honorable mention, since the US assassins were caught). China is setting up "police stations" in Western countries to intimidate ex-pats, not to mention the ongoing industrial espionage thing. Russia and North Korea seem to be conducting regular cyber attacks against NATO members (including civilian targets). And we've resigned ourselves to constant misinformation campaigns (+ election meddling) from Russia, China, and Iran.

If other poles follow the same gentleman's agreement, that works out. But I'm not sure how "we" can take the high road when other countries aren't.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago (1 children)

To play devils advocate - the "gentlemans agreement" you speak of isn't perfect. The US was caught spying on Germany. I'm pretty sure the US & UK are only such tight allies because of shared intelligence gathering.

Also the US has shown twice (WWI & II) that allies are expendable until America is threatened directly.

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[–] [email protected] 21 points 11 months ago

No need to worry that it might happen. It’s been happening for the last 20 years. It’s a constant slow grind to the bottom.

[–] Scubus 21 points 11 months ago

Evey four years we decide whether we'll be a serious country, or play in the mud. The fact that this argument seriously happens would diminish my faith in the US too.

I say would, because I live and and as such already have none.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 11 months ago

This is true, certainly in the UK and we're so dim (by a slim margin) that we voted FOR Brexit. (I voted remain)

[–] [email protected] 16 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Weird. I was just thinking this earlier whilst out walking. Can the US' word of friendship/help/support ever be trusted? Has it ever? Soon as it gets a little bit real for the population calls for undisturbed isolation come out and the US reneges on their word.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

There's nothing unusual about that. America has a long history of fucking it's allies until the last minute (e.g. WWI & II).

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

the unusual bit was thinking about it then finding an article in my feed

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:


With a divided electorate and gridlock in Congress, the next American president could easily become consumed by manifold challenges at home — before even beginning to address flashpoints around the world from Ukraine to the Middle East.

In campaign speeches, Trump remains skeptical of organizations such as NATO, often lamenting the billions the U.S. spends on the military alliance whose support has been critical to Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion.

Politics at University College London, said that whoever wins the presidential race, the direction of travel will be the same – toward a multipolar planet in which the United States is no longer “the indisputable world superpower.”

Germany is the second-largest donor of military aid to Kyiv, behind the U.S., but Scholz recently told Die Zeit that the country couldn’t fill any gap on its own if “the U.S.A. ceased to be a supporter.”

China, where leaders’ initial warmth toward Trump soured into tit-for-tat tariffs and rising tensions, little changed under Biden, who continued his predecessor’s tough stance toward the United States’ strategic rival.

Associated Press writers Jiwon Song in Seoul, South Korea, Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin, Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia, Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, Nomaan Merchant in Washington, and Jill Colvin and Michelle Price in New York contributed to this story.


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