It appears that the inauguration of Barack Obama is about to usher in a new era of good feelings toward America. Nowhere will Obama's ascension to the Oval Office mean more than in Kenya, where people feel a very real, if not particularly deep, connection with the President-Elect.
In my own travels throughout the world, whether in Africa or elsewhere. I have found the alleged anti-Americanism that has supposedly been so rampant in the world in the last years to be dramatically overstated. It would be more accurate to say that American policies have engendered hostility, and that hostility has manifested itself more in disappointment than in hatred. As a general rule, people have wanted to engage Americans, and do a good job of differentiating individual Americans from national policy. Of course it is easier to deflect attack if you can articulate grievances with those policies as well or better than those who might be inclined to confront you. Nonetheless, it is easy to misrepresent the anti-American trend, as, I assume, it will be easy to overstate the renaissance of America's reputation in the world.
The United States will continue to have a complex relationship with the rest of the world. We would be naive to think that Barack Obama is going to be a balm to soothe all wounds and the palliative that will alleviate all anxieties.
A few months ago, I wrote about the early stages of the conflict in Ukraine through the lens of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. While it appears likely that the war will carry on into the foreseeable future, enough time has passed for us to make an honest assessment of each side’s relative […]
The Ukrainian Army has made dramatic strides in the last few weeks. Ukraine’s tactical commanders have outfoxed their Russian counterparts, and by issuing a feint towards the south the UA has been able to earn substantial gains in the north of their country. The impact of these efforts have been compounded by the steady stream […]
In mid-May the Irish political party, Sinn Féin, won the plurality of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Many American readers might not fully understand the significance of Sinn Féin’s political victory- but rest assured that subjects of the United Kingdom and a wide range of political movements the world over have heard the message […]
The first wave of the Russian offensive in Ukraine has fallen short of Russian autocrat Vladmir Putin’s ambitions. Most analysts deduced that Putin had hoped to achieve a decapitation strike of the Ukrainian government- taking Kiev and replacing Ukrainian President Vladimir Zolinski with a pro-Kremlin voice. Kiev has been threatened repeatedly through the course of […]
On the weekend of March 26th, the notorious MS-13 gang went on a massive killing spree in El Salvador which left more than 70 people dead by Sunday. Even for a country where powerful gangs hold massive sway, this recent tragedy stands out considering that it was the bloodiest day on record since the civil […]
