Is the United States' Credibility in Tatters?

[Robert_S]

How come we never talk about the credibility or international standing of the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, or whatever other first world countries that are so great?

I understand its relatively straightforward to start a new thread.

What button to I shoot at to make that happen?

[Clinton Huxley]

How come we never talk about the credibility or international standing of the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, or whatever other first world countries that are so great?

I understand its relatively straightforward to start a new thread.

What button to I shoot at to make that happen?

Made me spit out a gobbet of coffee.

[pErvinalia]

[Cormac]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23721918

On the streets of Cairo it's not just a fledgling democracy that lies in ruin. US policy too lies in tatters - in the eyes of many - or at least America's reputation and credibility.

Since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak in 2011, the US has struggled to strike a balance between support for the tenuous progress towards democracy and protection of its national security interests.

The White House has tried hard to work with whoever is in power in Egypt but has ended up with no friends and little influence in Cairo.

Washington's recent diplomatic efforts in Egypt have failed one after the other. Up until his removal from power, the US tried to counsel Mr Morsi to accept a compromise with the army and the protesters.

The US also appealed to the military not to remove Mr Morsi. After the coup, Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns travelled to Cairo twice to help mediate between the military and the Muslim Brotherhood. But even getting an audience in Cairo these days is a hard task for US officials.

The US refrained from calling Mr Morsi's removal a coup for fear of upsetting the country's generals and the millions who demanded Mr Morsi's departure.

Coito.

What is your view of what US credibility was before these events?

[Tyrannical]

Meh, Egyptians probably didn't like us much anyways.

[Tero]

What, it's our problem they could not invent democracy in several thousand years? Perhaps their resources and poor economy prevents democracy. They can just revive the old system:

[HomerJay]

How come we never talk about the credibility or international standing of the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, or whatever other first world countries that are so great?

Yeah, what's Canada up to anyway?

[HomerJay]

Egyptians divided on the issue?

Beach or BBQ?

[Warren Dew]

Europe should be kissing our feet for making them what they are today.

A shrinking minority of Europeans personally remember WWII, and a growing fraction aren't even old enough to remember the Cold War.

[Tero]

There isn't much to remember about the cold war. Our president went hunting with Brezhnev and shot at boars someone chased into view. There was a retired army dude behind him who shot the boar within a second if the president missed.

It was mostly an embarrassment. But crime was lower, no Russian mafia outside Russia.

[Tero]

Drewish, where have you been? There's nobody to refute my rebuttals of the usual libertarian claims.

[Warren Dew]

There isn't much to remember about the cold war.

I bet a lot of middle aged Europeans remember, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

[Hermit]

There isn't much to remember about the cold war.

I bet a lot of middle aged Europeans remember, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

They may well do so, but for the rest? When some people cannot put a pin on a map to locate Poland or think that Europe is a country?

[pErvinalia]

It's near the country of Islam, isn't it?

[Warren Dew]

There isn't much to remember about the cold war.

I bet a lot of middle aged Europeans remember, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

They may well do so, but for the rest? When some people cannot put a pin on a map to locate Poland or think that Europe is a country?

You think a lot of Europeans don't know where Poland is?

Granted Hollande seems to think Europe is a country.