Obama reaches across the Atlantic

Obama spoke in Berlin yesterday, predictably calling on a greater unity between Europe and the USA, and defending America's foreign policy.

Obama said he was aware of the unpopularity of American foreign policy in Europe but added that, "Our country continues to sacrifice greatly for freedom around the globe."




This is one of the most difficult debates to have. Proponents of armed intervention on foreign soil, such as Iraq, say that America is right to spread the democratic ideal across the globe, and rid countries of terrible dictators such as Saddam Hussein.

However, it is easy for conspiracy theorists, mostly on the Left, to say that America's foreign policy is only about spreading US hegemony in the Middle East and securing access to the largest oil fields in the world. These people then point to countries like Zimbabwe, where there is no oil and where the US does nothing to prevent Robert Mugabe plunging the country cruelly into further chaos.

However, by taking the oil out of the hands of a dictator and putting it, hopefully, in the control of a stable, democratic government, the US leaders can argue that the people of Iraq will finally gain access to the wealth buried beneath them.