Despite the Obama Administration’s wishful thinking and Dennis Ross’s best efforts to persuade Chinese leaders to abandon their country’s most fundamental foreign policy interests for no clear benefit, Colum Lynch reports in the Washington Post that China’s Ambassador to the United Nations said Tuesday that his government is not ready to impose tough new sanctions on Iran for not having suspended its uranium enrichment program. Colum Lynch’s report can be read here.
– Hillary Mann Leverett
It’s always depressing when one sees the American government tilting at windmills. We all know, and have known for years, that China is not going to endanger its relationship Iran for the benefit of the U.S. and Israel.
I welcomed Obama’s election mainly on foreign policy grounds. But it’s apparent that he is unwilling to make real departures from the failed policies of the past. Like the U.S. Congress, he is a prisoner of AIPAC. The tragic aspect of this is that our pro-Israeli policies are hurting the American people. Much as we may hate having to say it out loud, the fact is that U.S. Middle East policy is shaped more by Tel Aviv than Washington. There is a potential majority in the U.S. for a pro-American Middle East policy, but until a national leader (can you hear me, Barack?) has the guts to enunciate it, we will continue down the wrong road.