U.S. - China Resemble Pre-1918 & Obama's Asian Farewell Tour: Failure

The National Interest - U.S. China Relations Resemble Pre-WW1

Michael Gerson writes: After the killing of Osama bin Laden in particular, some in the Obama administration seemed to regard the threat of terrorism as diminished, contained and manageable. This viewpoint — while offering important corrections — has become dramatically less credible with the collapse of sovereignty at the heart of the Middle East; with ongoing mass atrocities against civilians in Syria; with a refugee crisis that incubates resentment and now shakes the foundations of the European Union; and with the establishment of a physical place — a quasi-state — that claims to be the Islamic caliphate. –Washington Post

Editorial: President Obama’s 11th and final trip to Asia looked rude and ragged from the outside. It began with a botched arrival in China, featuring a missing airline staircase, that some interpreted as a deliberate snub of the president. Then came an unmistakable insult from Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who obliged Mr. Obama to cancel their bilateral meeting by calling him the Tagalog equivalent of “son of a whore.” The kerfuffle was particularly troubling because it came as China marshaled ships near a shoal whose defense from Beijing’s incursions has been a focus of recent U.S.-Philippine cooperation. – Washington Post
 
David Feith writes: Barack Obama’s farewell visit to Asia this week was marred by a nasty spat with an important ally: firebrand Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who called the U.S. president a “son of a whore” and caused the cancellation of a bilateral meeting. This breaks from the recent Asian diplomatic norm of China provoking crises and the U.S. generally strengthening ties with regional allies. But the alliance headaches caused by Mr. Duterte could preview what’s to come for the next U.S. president, whether Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. – Wall Street Journal

• Kristol on American leadership

Editorial: Foreign leaders have reciprocated by taking this administration down a notch knowing they pay no price. In May 2013, Vladimir Putin reportedly kept the U.S. secretary of state cooling his heels for three hours outside his office before deigning to receive him. Even as Obama was hailing the nuclear deal with Iran as a great breakthrough, the ayatollah vowed “no change” in his policy, which remained diametrically opposed to “U.S. arrogant system.” The mullahs followed by openly conducting illegal ballistic missile tests — calculating, correctly, that Obama would do nothing. –Washington Post ​