In the days leading up to the Olympics, President Bush, traveling through Asia on his way to the games, openly criticized China on its human rights record. China’s response to the criticism was one we have grown accustom to hearing: stay out of our affairs; mind your own business.
Russia recently responded to the United States’ calls to end the conflict in Georgia in a similar manner. When the conflict broke out, President Bush and several different members of his cabinet all issue stern warnings on the implications of Russia’s actions. Russia responded by upping the amount of troops in the region from 10,000 to 15,000 and ultimately escalating the conflict.
Russia later agreed to withdraw its troops, although the terms of the withdrawal are still under negations. At present, there are still Russian troops on Georgian soil.
This scenario has become a familiar one for this administration’s dealings with emerging super powers and what it considers as “rogue states.” Tough talk diplomacy has become the default response to tough international issues. After all, why shouldn’t it be? Tough diplomacy has long been an integral tool for the U.S. government. Yet, the tough talk is becoming increasingly ineffective when dealing with some nations.
Russia, for example, has been boosted by its vast oil and natural gas reserves, and has returned from the collapse of the post cold war years to become a major global player once again. Emboldened by its economic growth, Russia has taken an increasingly confrontational stance with the U.S. on certain issues.
China and its once isolated communist regime, has seen an economic growth spurt that has put it atop the list of emerging super powers. It too has consistently challenged, if not all together ignored the U.S. on key issues such as human rights and its brutal suppression of Tibetan Buddhist monks.
It appears that there is very little the United States government can do to deter these countries from testing the waters, seeing how far they can push it. More often the U.S. is being forced to pick and choose its battles when it comes to issues of international importance.
The truth of the matter is that as the wars carry on in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the U.S. economy continues to struggle, the U.S. will become economically and militarily stretched thin.
While both China and Russia have enjoyed economic booms, the U.S. has seen a drop off in economic activity and is becoming reliant on other super powers. A lot of it is due to activity in the financial markets in the U.S., some of it is due to our economic dealings with the countries like China.
Some argue that our economic stability, what we have left of it, depends on China. China has vast reserves of U.S. currency and the U.S. has hundreds of billions of dollars trade deficit with China. The U.S. needs Chinese exports more than the Chinese need U.S. exports. So with this type of imbalance, China can afford to carry on about their business without too much fear of how the U.S. might attempt to stop them.
It is this nuanced shift of global power that has seen the U.S. succumb to a position where we can do little more than bark out half-hearted demands that countries like Russia and China both know are losing their potency.