U.S. 'Special Relationships' Strained Globally: Sabotage?

The good cop (President Obama) and bad cop (President Bush) routine when it came to foreign policy and international relations, which the Democrats convincingly pushed during the presidential campaign in 2008, has gone awry. Despite winning the Nobel Peace Prize, the Obama administration has managed to strain, or preside during the straining of, the U.S.'s most longstanding and oft-touted 'special relationships' worldwide. Here are just three:

Britain: Ever since the end of World War Two, when exiting British Premier and war leader Winston Churchill announced the rise of the "iron curtain" of Communism at a small U.S. college, the U.S. and the U.K. have been the best of friends. But whether they remain BFFs is questionable at best. In the past few weeks, a serious split has occurred between the U.S. and NATO on the one hand favoring troop increases and counter-insurgency operations, and the U.K., United Nations and Afghan officials favoring the integrations of insurgents like the Taliban into the developing political systems. Although the conflicts of interest here are clear and unequivocal, on the surface the U.S.' special relationship with Great Britain remains placid.

Israel: Arguably no country has a more "special" relationship with the U.S. than Israel, for two main reasons. First is that the pro-Israel lobby within the U.S. is among the most powerful; second is that Israel, being the only unofficial nuclear power in the Middle East, has given more than foothold in the region to the U.S. This, despite Israel's ongoing and seemingly interminable apartheid-like treatment of Palestinians, and the U.S.' willingness to turn a blind eye, just like it did with South Africa in the name of fightingting communism, except now with Israel the pretext is fighting terrorism. However, in what may prove to be the first major diplomatic flap of this decade, Israel unexpectedly announced the construction of new settlements during Vice President Joe Biden's last visit a few weeks ago. Ever since, ties have been strained to say the least, to the point where Israel skipped the recent international nuclear summit in Washington, although the reasons given have varied, and halted the settlements.

Japan: As with Britain, the special relationship between the U.S. and Japan dates back to the Second World War, but in a very different way. After the two nuclear bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan surrendered, and the U.S.-imposed constitution prohibited the country from having a standing army or navy, a void which the U.S. was all too happy to fill. In exchange, Japan became a powerhouse of capitalism, especially in the new high-technology industries which it has dominated until recently. However, a sharp political turn was made in 2008 when the socialist-leaning Yukio Hatoyama was elected into power, who also happens to favor relations with China and its rapidly growing economy over the U.S. and its shrinking one. Since becoming Prime Minister, Hatoyama has also threatened to expel U.S. military bases on Japanese territory, among its biggest and most important worldwide.

While it is the President's job to set the agenda for international relations and foreign policy, it is generally the Secretary of State's (in this case, Hillary Clinton) responsibility to implement it. We all know how bitter the campaign between Clinton and Obama was. Could this straining of the U.S.'s special relationships globally be sabotage and, if so, who is sabotaging whom?

Photo credit: ToastyKen