No real change in US foreign policy

I'm disillusioned with US President Barack Obama. It's the sort of disappointment one inevitably feels when presented with a beautifully gift-wrapped package only to find it contains a pair of socks or a knock-off designer watch that stops working within a few days.

Six months into his presidency and there's been little change in American foreign policy. He promised so much and but, as yet, has delivered little.

Yes, there have been plenty of fine speeches reaching out to America's European allies and attempting to repair US relations with the Muslim world.

He may be genuinely well-intentioned or simply a remarkably effective public relations guru. It may be that he lacks the strength to follow through with his strategies in an effort to avoid making powerful enemies. Whatever the reason, to date, he has been ineffective in bringing about real change.

For instance, he talks a good talk when it comes to improving US-Russian ties, which became icy during the Bush White House. And there appeared to be warm chemistry between Obama and President Dmitry Medvedev when they met in Moscow recently.

However, Obama wasn't such a hit with what some consider the real power behind Russia - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Not surprising, perhaps, when just days before they breakfasted together at Putin's dacha, Obama warned the Russian government of maintaining 'Cold War' attitudes and accused Putin of having "one foot in the old ways of doing business and one foot in the new".

Bush's successor may be blessed with an enviable Colgate smile and a silken tongue, but there the difference ends. Their policies vis-à-vis Moscow appear to be almost identical. Obama backs the Bush administration's planned missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, which Russia fears could weaken its own nuclear deterrent capability.

Moscow warns that if this goes ahead, it could jeopardise a proposed US-Russia treaty designed to reduce their nuclear arsenals and force Russia to deploy nuclear missiles near Poland.

And when it comes to promoting Georgia's admission into the Nato alliance, there isn't a chink of light between Obama and George W. Bush. This is a serious point of contention between Washington and Moscow because the Russian government believes that Georgia is still within its sphere of influence and does not want Nato hugging its border.

Obama's charm offensive won't result in cynical Russian officials falling at his feet as long as he has a dagger up his sleeve.

Washington and Moscow are also at loggerheads over Iran. Despite US pressure Russia refuses to okay stiff anti-Iranian UN sanctions and supports President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's controversial election victory.

But wait a minute! Wasn't Obama keen to open direct unconditional talks with the Iranian leadership? Now it appears he wants to punish it instead.

The spectre of Bush still hovers over Iraq, too. During the run-up to the US presidential election, Obama, who was always vehemently against the war, gave the impression that he could hardly wait to withdraw American troops from that country. Yet, once in office, he embraced the Bush administration's negotiated Status-of-Forces Agreement.

As Erik Leaver and Daniel Atzmon pointed out in an article titled Withdrawal in Name Only although US troops withdrew from Iraq cities on June 20, "there are no plans to transfer the 3,000 American troops stationed within Baghdad at Forward Operating Base Falcon, because commanders have determined that despite its location, it is not within the city."

The article's authors accuse the US of playing with semantics because it has reclassified troops as military trainers, while there is no mention of the 132,610 military contractors.

The US is also expanding military bases within Iraq while Congress has recently sanctioned the spending of $70billion (Dh257 billion) for military construction there.

Likewise when it comes to facilitating a Palestinian state, Obama has said all the right things but hasn't progressed any further.

To be fair, he is urging Israel to quit West Bank colony expansion and relax its stranglehold on Gaza but because his words are not supported by real consequences, the Israelis are basically saying 'No way Jose'.

Furthermore, in the way of Bush, he is backing Mahmoud Abbas, whose presidential tenure has long lapsed, and making no attempts to bring Fatah and Hamas together - the only route to Israel having a legitimate peace partner.

Add to that his failure to condemn 'Operation Cast Lead' which wrought 22-days of sheer hell on Gaza's civilians, who, according to Israeli soldiers themselves, were used as human shields, subjected to white phosphorous and were victims of a 'shoot to kill, ask questions later' policy, and you get the picture.

Within the US, Obama's approval rating has taken a dive mostly due to his handling of the economy and his proposed health care reforms. In July, it stood at just 57 per cent.

Obama's honeymoon is finally over, the shiny façade is wearing thin and his oratory is beginning to ring hollow.

I would humbly remind you, Mr President, that action always speaks louder than words. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: "Whatever course you decide upon there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising which tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires courage."

Do you have enough?

Linda S. Heard is a specialist writer on Middle East affairs. She can be contacted at lheard@gulfnews.com. Some comments may be considered for publication.