The Obama Doctrine

I guess this treatment of our allies is intentional instead of incompetence. Even an incompetent will get something right by accident. [Link]

Yesterday marked the 8th month of the Obama administration, and a unifying theme behind their management of our relations with other nations -- an "Obama Doctrine," if you will -- is starting to emerge. And it ain't a pretty one.
It seems best summed up thus: "piss off your friends and appease your foes."
It doesn't sound like a formula for success, or even well thought out, but it is the best summation that fits the known facts. Witness how things have gone with select nations:
Great Britain: a steady stream of slights and insults, including cheap gifts to the Prime Minister (including DVDs that won't work in England), the return of a prized Churchill bust that had held an honored place in the Oval Office for decades, and meddling with Bermuda (a British colony) to the point where we inadvertently toppled their government. How the release of the Lockerbie bomber fits in is unclear; it could be considered a bit of a "tit for tat" slap from the British, or the Obama's protestations of being unaware of it beforehand could be more attempts to blame the British for things.
Israel: A major shift has occurred in our stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. For decades, we'd said that the major obstacle to peace was the two sides' tendency to destroy things (people, buildings, vehicles, and the like). Under Obama, the biggest problem is now Israel's building housing for people. No wonder only about 4% of Israelis think that Obama is on their side.
Poland: The former keystone to the Soviet empire (that might be a stretch, but they did call their alliance "the Warsaw Pact") has been a great friend of the United States ever since President Reagan supported the Solidarity movement that began the collapse of that empire. There are few people who more value freedom than those who have just emerged from decades of enslavement. Then, on the 60th 70th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Poland, Obama announces that he's withdrawing the missile shield President Bush had promised the Poles to protect them from Soviet threats.
Canada and Mexico: Our two closest neighbors, with whom we share huge, unfortified borders, are also our key trading partners. During the election, Obama denounced the NAFTA pact that has benefited all three nations (to various degrees) and has been pushing a form of American protectionism that threatens their continued prosperity.