Independent voices from the TWT Communities
As President Obama prepares to host the NATO and Group of Eight international summits this weekend, there are increasing signs that the world is brushing him aside.
As President Obama prepares to play host to a doubleheader of global diplomacy at the Group of Eight and NATO summits this weekend, there are increasing signs that the world is tuning out his message.
In a rare global summit where the U.S. leader is not the center of attention, President Obama leaves Wednesday evening for the Group of 20 summit in Cannes, France, with a diminished international presence and an economic-growth message being drowned out by the scramble to deal with Europe's unresolved debt crisis.
Weaving together strands of pomp, policy and summitry, President Barack Obama's weeklong European tour is all about tending to old friends in the Western alliance and securing their help with daunting challenges, from the political upheaval in the Mideast and North Africa to the protracted war in Afghanistan.
The fervent belief of the early Obama days — punctuated by a Nobel Peace Prize — that President Obama ushered in a new U.S. foreign policy era that Europeans would welcome has given way to growing concern over the U.S.-supported NATO campaign in Libya and questions over the pace of troop withdrawal in Afghanistan.
"It was an extraordinary event," she said. "I don't believe it bodes well in the near term for working constructively with Moscow on some of these more significant issues."
Ms. Conley said the pending election means the president's "role is somewhat limited," but he "can play a role of listening, helping leaders find common ground."
