Quote Originally Posted by Ken White View Post
He notes in the book that the US sent mixed signals and was ambivalent with regard to the uprising. Per a JMA comment elsewhere, the World at large has great difficulty in understanding US Foreign Policy. That is true, was so with regard to Hungary in 1956 as well as with Libya in 2011 and, in fact, has always been true of this nation back unto the Barbary Pirates and the War of 1812 -- it is a function of our system of governance which we are unwilling to change simply because others cannot understand it and do not like the often conflicting signals it sends which in turns can frustrate their desire for own coherent policies. Those signals conflict not due to dithering but rather because our governmental milieu is conflicted by design.
Its relatively simple Ken. If the US cannot put a coherent foreign policy together and articulate it clearly then it must accept that it will be misunderstood/distrusted/hated by people across the world.

I have noted with interest how shocked your average American is when he is confronted by hostility and distrust in places where they expected friendship and even a little respect and appreciation.

So Ken go ahead and flip the world and say "take us as we are or shove it" it just further reduces your circle of friends in the world.

The US has the unfortunate habit of wanting to be the bride at every wedding and the baby at every Christening but it often ends in tears when they end up as the corpse at the odd funeral.