Best response to Republican meme that the US is not leading

[karynnj]

At the press conference in the Netherlands, the Dutch Prime Minister responded after President Obama to a question by ABC'c Jonathan Karl on America losing influence and not leading the world - aka the Republican meme of Romney/McCain/Corker/Rubio et al.

His answer should be used to counter the attacks. The fact is that President Obama - unlike President Bush - has been conducting foreign policy in conjunction with the rest of the Western world. You can't both LEAD others and operate unilaterally. Prime Minister Rutte responded that the US was essential in a long list of diplomatic efforts.

Here, from the White House site is his full response.

PRIME MINISTER RUTTE: There is no geopolitical conflict which can be solved without the United States. And therefore, I applaud the fact that President Obama’s administration is active in every arena -- Ukraine, Iran, Syria, the Middle East peace process, and so many other parts of the world -- and takes initiatives Secretary of State Kerry is taking now in the Middle East peace process. I was, in December, in the region and I spoke with senior leaders both in Israel and the Palestinian Territories. They are extremely grateful for the fact that America is providing that leadership.

This is a difficult issue; it can’t be solved overnight. There is no magic wand which can handle this. But progress is being made. Take Iran. I spoke with President Rouhani in Davos at the World Economic Forum in January. We have now interim accords. The fact that I was able -- the first Dutch leader in over 30, 40 years who spoke with an Iranian leader, President Rouhani -- was possible because of the interim accords, and it seems that it is holding. America provides leadership there.

So I really applaud President Obama’s role in all these major issues. And it is necessary because the United States is leader of the free world and needs to provide that leadership, and he is doing that.

Then, on your question about President Putin, I cannot -- it would be difficult to exactly judge what is happening in the senior leadership in Moscow, in Russia, at this moment. But as I said earlier, a highly undiversified economy, like the Russian economy, which is so much oil and gas-dependent, which has not invested in infrastructure, invested in other areas of its economy -- it will be worried if there is a risk in the financial sector, or in weapons, or in trade, or indeed in energy. There could be potential sanctions; it will hurt them. And as I said earlier, we have to design them in such a way that they will particularly hit Russia and not Europe, the U.S., Canada or Japan. That is what we are working on and we hope we won’t need them.

And then, on a red line, I cannot envision this conflict ending up in a military conflict. I don’t think that is likely. I don’t think anybody wants it. And at the same time, I totally agree with President Obama’s answer on Article 5, when this conflict will be taken to the borders of one of the NATO countries. But, luckily, that is at this moment not the case.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/03/25/press-conference-president-obama-and-prime-minister-rutte-netherlands

The link has the full press conference - which was great. Prosense has a great thread on President Obama's response to the question where I posted Rutte's response as well that is worth reading - http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=4732240

I posted this to try to get this fantastic defense of the President's foreign policy by a respected foreign leader more visibility.