U.S. Isolationism: A Grave for Europe in Damascus? (L'Orient Le Jour, Lebanon)
"Neo-isolationism or a major revision of strategic options?
The future will tell. Nevertheless, President Obama's attitude is a seismic
shock to the world, the effects of which will continue to be felt for decades
to come. ... The new American isolationism, which has its rationale, exposes the
nakedness of Europe. The ball is now in the hands of Western Europe, whose
hegemony of the seas has remained undisputed since the times of the Roman Empire.
... If Europe is unable to come up with adequate strategic options for a
Euro-Arab dialogue, history may well recall that Western Europe was buried in
Damascus."
The eastern Mediterranean and nearby countries, including Syria, Turkey, Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the island of Cyprus, face uncertainty unknown since the rise of ancient Rome.
What an earthquake! The Syrian regime uses
chemical weapons against its own people. U.S. President Barack Obama takes a
stand, deploying his armada to the Mediterranean. It was as if we were reliving
a remake of the Cuban
missile crisis in reverse. And then, a huge surprise - the American president
gives in, backs down and resorts to a diplomatic solution that allows him to
get out of the Syrian wasps' nest that he obviously doesn't like. In spite of
crimes against humanity, in spite of violations of the most basic and
fundamental principles of our world - those the West have always wanted to
protect - the American president's gesture was perceived as that of a Caesar Augustus who no
longer wants to be absolute master of Rome, but prefers to remain village chief.
Neo-isolationism or a major revision of strategic
options? The future will tell. Nevertheless, President Obama's attitude is a
seismic shock to the world, the effects of which will continue to be felt for
decades to come.
Has Obama climbed down vis-à-vis Putin as
Khrushchev did in regard to Kennedy in 1962? It's not altogether clear.
Already, after his famous Cairo speech of June 4, 2009, the best-informed
onlookers noticed the double danger underpinning Obama's vision: a certain
anti-imperial leftism lined with consensual and pacifist communitarianism. All
the arguments of his speech suggested that the world's problems amount to a
family feud among Abraham's
heirs - Jews, Christians and Muslims. He called for a reconciliation of Abrahamic monotheism as the basis for a new era of world
peace. It is clear that when it comes to the greatest military power in history,
such considerations are largely insufficient as a basis for clear strategy.
The Syrian crisis has only confirmed this
impression. Barack Obama is not and does not want to be an empire builder. This
could signify that the U.S., which no longer needs Middle East oil, can afford
to withdraw from the Levant
and gradually fall back to the American continent and the vastness of the
Pacific. America is becoming an island in the middle of the ocean once more - a
great maritime power.
But what is to become of the rest of the world?
Vladimir Putin has clearly understood the meaning of the vacuum created by
Obama. He rushed, 24 hours after Obama's famous speech of September 10, to
address the American people on the front page
of The New York Times, almost as
if were speaking to them fact to face, from the Atlantic shores of Europe,
because at issue with all of this turmoil is Europe, or more precisely, the
Euro-Mediterranean.
The new American isolationism, which has its
rationale, exposes the nakedness of Europe. The ball is now in the hands of Western
Europe, whose hegemony of the seas has remained undisputed since the times of
the Roman Empire. Centered on the Mediterranean as an open conduit,
civilization could thrive and prosper around "mare nostrum [our sea],"
but she was also able to conquer the world and export to the four corners of
the globe through the conquering power of colonial empire, the strategic
acquisitions of which avoided collapse in the 20th century thanks to U.S.
intervention, especially during the two world wars and the Cold War.
Are we still in such a familiar world? Nothing could
be less certain. If, in the wake of the Syria crisis, such a reversal in the
Mediterranean is confirmed, it would mean:
-- A continental power, no longer a maritime
one, dominates the old Eurasian continent.
-- The Mediterranean Sea, the eastern gate of
which is Syria, with its Orontes
and Euphrates Rivers, is no longer an open sea, but would be one of three
enclosed seas in Eurasia: the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea and the Mediterranean
Sea.
-- Under such circumstances Western Europe
would be no more than what geography intended it to be: an extension - a
peninsula - of Eurasia.
It's clear that one of the major issues of this
confusing Syria crisis is not only the energy supply of Europe, but Europe's
political future.
Is Europe in a position, with its fidelity to
its history and culture, of having a political vision for the
Euro-Mediterranean? If Europe is unable to come up with adequate strategic
options for a Euro-Arab dialogue, history may well recall that Western Europe
was buried in Damascus.
