US cannot afford to unleash bulls in diplomacy's china shop

One can expect such gaffes from “lesser nations” without the intellectual resources and gravitas of the leader of the free world; and this does not augur well for the free world. If this is what passes for proficient foreign policy by Obama’s fading administration, then the sooner we see Hillary in the White House the better. It’s one thing being a lame duck, but an incompetent duck that effortlessly crosses the species boundary to transmute into a horned beast with a predilection for converting pleasing pottery into meaningless sharp shards is not what the Western world needs at this moment.
The world order is, at this time, far from stable or predictable. Oil prices are economically unstable, political relations with Russia are unstable, the euro zone is financially and politically unstable, the Middle East is unstable – as usual, terrorism is rife and emerging now within Europe.
Against this backdrop we have Daniel Russel’s crass attempts at diplomacy in the Asian theatre, where America needs all the real allies it can get to counter China’s expansionist policy in the South China Sea. Instead we see ham-fisted hectoring that has irritated the generals, wounded national pride and muddied the waters, leaving the bad taste that Uncle Sam is in some way trying to aid Thaksin and Co.
Please, Mr Obama, concentrate on the ball at this extraordinarily difficult period in world affairs, understand who is actually a friend and who a foe, and ensure that those charged with the delicate business of diplomacy actually have some diplomatic skills.
Daniel W Delaware