In the classic American chain gang film,
Cool Hand Luke (1967), the defiant escapee played by Paul Newman, shouts out in mockery to the sadistic prison chief, «what we have got here is a failure to communicate», before law-enforcement officers open fire on the ill-fated young rebel.
Washington and Moscow may not have reached such a deadly stand-off yet, but the words «failure to communicate» seem nevertheless to be dangerously apposite. And let's be frank, the failure is entirely on Washington's side.
Put another way, what we have here is a failure in diplomacy. What should be disturbing to any observer is the complete void in diplomatic skill among members of the Obama administration and the entire crop of lawmakers in Washington.Hardly a man or woman seems capable of engaging with Russia to resolve geopolitical tensions through rational dialogue. What we see instead is a culture of belligerence and boorish disregard for international relations. Call it American «exceptionalism» or hubris, or downright stupid obtuseness.Endemic in Washington, it seems, is a «zero-sum mentality», whereby other nations who are not deemed to be sufficiently compliant with American demands are immediately cast as «threats» or miscreants. Russia, China, Iran fit that American billing.
Comment: US complicit in Saudi slaughter of Yemeni civilians.