Der Spiegel interviewed former U.S. National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski about the Wikileaks release of diplomatic dispatches. With his East European mind, Zbig raised some interesting questions about the authenticity of some of the documents and speculated elsewhere that they seemed to be deliberate plants or fabrications to sabotage American relations around the world.
Here are some of his latest comments.
On the effect of the release of the diplomatic dispatches. " There was a saying once in Vienna during the good old days of the Habsburg Empire that when things went wrong and people were asked for comment, the comment usually was "Well, it's catastrophic but not serious." And that's the way this is.
On the problems the cables raise: "There are slightly mystifying aspects of this whole operation. I do see some strange degree of emphasis on some issues. Just look at the degree of emphasis that has been put in the initial wave of revelations on discrediting several pro-American Arab governments by highlighting their demands for military action against Iran. That could be very tourblesome within some Arab countries. It's also interesting that so much emphasis is put on leaks that could be calculated deliberately to damage American-Turkish relations."
Der Spiegel remarks about the reliance of America on "very unreliable partners".
Zbig: "Is any of that news? America has relied on unstable partners throughout its history."
Der Spiegel talks about the rise of India and China and the potential decline of the United States and wonders whether Americans are aware of this trend.
Zbig:" I am very worried that most Americans are close to total ignorance about the world. They are ignorant. That is an unhealthy condition in a country in which foreign policy has to be endorsed by people if it is to be pursued. And it makes it much more difficult for any president to pursue an intelligent policy that does justice to the complexity of the world."
Der Spiegel:"yet the American Right is still convinced of American exceptionalism>"
Zbig: " That is a reaction to the inability of people to understand global complexity or important issues like American energy dependency. Therefore, they search for simplistic sources of comfort and clarity. And the people that they are now selecting to be, so to speak, the spokespersons of their anxieties are ,in most cases, stunningly ignorant."
Der Spiegel: Advice to Obama
Zbig: "To relax and to carry on. His basic instincts on the large issues of foreign policy are fundamentally correct and in tune with history."
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