No change in US foreign policy

Markku Ruotsila, a lecturer on American and British history, criticises in his guest commentary for the daily Helsingin Sanomat the Europeans' unrealistic expectations of Obama: "People say and believe that as soon as he takes office he will turn his back on George W. Bush's foreign and defence policy and set the United States on the path of multilateralism, cooperation with the United Nations and the peaceful resolution of international conflicts according to the West European model. This idea is absurd. Obama will act no differently to Bush on key foreign policy issues for the simple reason that there is cross-party consensus in this area in the US. Election campaign tactics may lead him to claim the contrary but the fact is that on the most important foreign policy issues ... Bush followed the US tradition. ... And Obama, too, will be no exception in this respect."

» full article (external link, Finnish)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Europe, » U.S.