Rouhani and Obama Talk on the Phone.

[onetwo_threefour]

I don't think you're a bad guy and I find your foreign policy takes different and interesting. I'll even admit that I'm swayed by your assessment of US influence with allies such as Britain and the UK to suggest that you are correct to say that he is more of a failure than a success in terms of influence, although I hadn't read your initial post as referring to those types of issues. I think the end game of this diplomatic strategy is to have the US take a step back from brinksmanship on foreign policy, much as the congress needs to do. Why does the US have to be the one making the ultimatums to Syria in the first place. Why doesn't the US exert influence through NATO to make the case. The US can either continue to be a maverick on foreign policy, or take a step back and join a community. It doesn't have to be the UN, which has too many corrupting influences on the security council, but NATO works...

I do think we have to agree to disagree about the effect of this most recent event on US influence in that I see it as a net positive as per Vulcan and Plett, while you clearly do not. I think Obama is trying to find a differnt path to 'having influence' rather than 'projecting power'. That may seem naïve, but I think the two are not necessarily the same thing.

[Vulcan]

At the end of the day, the very strong relationships that the American's had with Britain and Germany for example at the end of the Bush Presidency imho are weaker today.

The relationship with the UK is weak because the British realize what a mess they were drawn into with Iraq and they don't want to repeat the mistake. It has nothing to do with Obama, it's fallout from the Bush disasters.