Less than a month after the inauguration of President Obama, his diplomatic team has started to reach out in all directions.
Presidential emissaries George Mitchell and Richard Holbrooke have visited the Middle East and South Asia respectively, and Vice-president Joe Biden attended the Munich Security Conference to give a policy speech on behalf of the administration. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is already on a visit to four East-Asian countries, and released quite a few speeches before her departure. The diplomatic forays have attracted a great deal of international attention and comments, as well as hopes US diplomacy will take a "correct path".
Judging from all the signs, especially Biden's speech in Munich, Obama's preference for diplomacy is becoming clear. The flexibility of his policy space, however, is still quite large, so many uncertainties remain.
It can hardly be said his policy orientation is settled, so more observation is needed.
The Obama team's first goal in trying to foster a "diplomatic New Deal" is to distance itself from the "cowboy diplomacy" of George W. Bush.
The policy speech of Vice-president Biden explicitly declared that "the new administration is determined to set a new tone in the US relations around the world," while US will increase its "contact", "listening" and "discussion" of issues with the outside world. One of its key phrases is multilateral cooperation, an acknowledgment the US cannot address significant global issues on its own. Alas, this is good news for the international dtente.
The second aim is to test the waters. Heeding domestic and international feedback, the administration is identifying which parts of the "Obama diplomatic Perestroika" are practical, which parts are hard to implement, and those that are unfeasible.
It is laying the groundwork for the new orientation of Obama diplomacy, and getting ready to bargain with all stakeholders in future.
It is apparently pragmatic, and beneficial in preventing excessive swings in foreign policies.
The third point is to declare the "continuity and inheritance of America's fundamental strategy".
Despite many differences between Obama and Bush in diplomacy, they indeed have the same dream: sustaining the super power status of the United States to lead the world. Their "grand strategy" is basically identical. The difference is just that Obama seeks to "refurbish" the image of America, so he will be cautious in using force and make diplomacy a priority.
The policy speech of Biden was obviously not that aggressive, with quite a few signals sounding out cooperation and reconciliation.