My amateur thoughts about foreign policy for today

Article:

https://www.rferl.org/a/poland-us-mideast-conference/29767156.html



Quotes from the article/My responses:


Quote:

A major U.S.-organized Middle East conference is under way in Poland, a NATO member that has tightened cooperation with Washington as a counterweight to Russia's influence in Central and Eastern Europe.

Iran appears to be the main focus of the February 13-14 conference in Warsaw, and Tehran has labeled the gathering as a hostile act and warned of unspecified consequences for Poland.


My response:

"Unspecified consequences for Poland."

Like what?


Quote:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence are in attendance, and U.S. sources told RFE/RL that more than 20 other countries from around the world were due to participate at a ministerial level, including Britain, Bulgaria, Italy, Georgia, Romania, Ukraine, South Korea, Brazil, and a number of Arab states such as Morocco and Saudi Arabia.


My response:

I'm glad that Brazil attended.  


Quote:


Russia and China are not participating and neither are the Palestinians, who have called for the meeting to be boycotted.


My response:

I ought to be better educated about the Palestinian situation.  As an American who primarily identifies as being Jewish, born over 40 years ago when WW II was still very much in the national consciousness, I have not made the attempt that I should have made to have a thorough, working knowledge of the history of the State of Israel and its past and current relationships in the Palestinian conflict.  I have also avoided saying too much about Israel in my unexpected role as a political writer, because I have doubted my ability to be impartial, and because I have not wanted my being known to be Jewish to impart to me a semblance of authority which I don't have.  There is nothing that could cause me to think that the State of Israel should be disbanded; I'm sure that no additional education, whether formal or informal, will prompt that conclusion.

Quote:

Moscow views with concern "U.S. attempts to impose unilateral geopolitical interests through initiatives presented as opinions of the entire international community," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in comments carried by the Interfax news agency.

My response:

Is the Russian Foreign Ministry kidding, accusing the U.S. of "attempts to impose unilateral geopolitical interests?"


Quote:

The gathering also comes as Poland is pushing for the United States to open a permanent U.S. base on its territory.


My response:

I don't know why the U.S. wouldn't build a base in Poland, if Poland is requesting it.




My assessment:

It is time for Latin America to be a major world power.  The checks on the dictatorial ambitions of Russia and China seem to be very tenuous, and terrorism has ensured that there is no corner of the world that can now be considered obsolete.