The Financial Times ... "Saudi Arabia continues to drift away from the US, which it believes is abdicating its leadership in the Middle East. India feels no obligation to support the US on the biggest issues – last month New Delhi defended Mr Putin’s right to amputate Crimea. Turkey, like the Gulf, is disgusted with Washington’s halfhearted response to Syria. And Pakistan, like Afghanistan, which held its first round of presidential voting at the weekend, is finding it increasingly easy to ignore Washington’s admonitions. Meanwhile, Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff cancelled her country’s first state visit to the US in 20 years in October in protest at the National Security Agency scandal. It is doubtful whether Germany’s Angela Merkel would accept such an invitation even it if were on offer.
"Some of this can be blamed on Mr Obama’s attention deficit diplomacy. In his Brussels speech, he made no mention of the NSA scandal, even though that is behind much of Europe’s mistrust. And his efforts to put fresh momentum behind the TTIP were nominal at best. One senior European diplomat described Mr Obama’s private comments on the trade deal as “passive aggressive”. It is striking how often European officials speak warmly of George W Bush’s personal style, even though his pugilism was widely disdained. On the world stage, as in Washington, Mr Obama is reluctant to reach out beyond his narrow coterie of trusted advisers."
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