4 ms·
"Optics" do matter. I think this move was made to a greater number of political points at home than fewer ones abroad. In any case, it shouldn't be too big of a
by tareqak 13y ago
"Optics" do matter. I think this move was made to a greater number of political points at home than fewer ones abroad. In any case, it shouldn't be too big of a surprise since the US administration has been very clear about Snowden and their intentions from the very beginning.
For whatever set of reasons, going to summit would have made Obama and the administration look weak at home.
- mpyne 13y ago> For whatever set of reasons, going to summit would have made Obama and the administration look weak at home. That is the reasoning precisely. Some of the news stories noting the cancellation are merciless in their insults to Obama: e.g. "Finally, a red line that is actually red".
- Amadou 13y agoit shouldn't be too big of a surprise since the US administration has been very clear about Snowden and their intentions from the very beginning. Obama said that he was, “not going to be scrambling jets to get a 29-year-old hacker” during a press conference in Senegal. That was a pretty straight-forward signal that he was not going to make a big deal about Snowden. Other people in the USG have been losing their proverbial shit over the situation, but Obama himself deliberately downplayed it.
- selectodude 13y agoBizarrely, the US decided to flex its muscle to ground Evo Morales' plane, on the suspicion that Snowden may be on it. Actions speak louder than words. This is obviously a much bigger issue to the Obama administration than they are saying.
- tptacek 13y agoCan you support that argument with evidence, or do you simply think it's self-evident that no country would disrupt Morales' flight unless the USG had pulled strings?
- selectodude 13y ago"While Spain said it gave Morales’ plane the go-ahead to fly over the Iberian peninsula after receiving assurance that the NSA leaker was not on board, the European nation’s foreign minister did admit that a U.S. request had led it to delay approving the over flight." http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2013/07/10/bolivia-plane-grounding-causes-uproar-throughout-latin-america/ http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2013/07/10/bolivia...
- tptacek 13y agoHuh! Interesting. Thank you! I hadn't seen this.
- sehugg 13y agoIt doesn't look downplayed to me; it's a complete sentence in the White House's press release on the summit. A pretty big deal diplomatically (http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/08/07/statement-press-secretary-president-s-travel-russia http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/08/07/statem...): Russia’s disappointing decision to grant Edward Snowden temporary asylum was also a factor that we considered in assessing the current state of our bilateral relationship.
- snowwrestler 13y agoMatter to whom? The optics for Obama in the U.S. matter because U.S. citizens can vote him or his party out of office. And, generally, this is non-issue in the U.S. The optics internationally are very different; influence depends on military and economic levers. Summits exist to show those levers getting pulled; if neither side is willing pull anything, there's no point in having a summit.
- Natsu 13y ago> For whatever set of reasons, going to summit would have made Obama and the administration look weak at home. I dunno. Cancelling a meeting doesn't exactly look strong either.