Britain isnt alone. Other allies are wondering about their relationship with America as well. Japan fears that the elevated emphasis the US has put on relations with China will come at its expense. India worries about this too, particularly in light of deeper US engagement with Pakistan. Poland worries about being sacrificed as the US resets its relations with Russia. Israel is concerned that in reaching out to the Islamic world, America is abandoning it.

The art of diplomacy is about talking to your enemies and advancing your interests. But if engaging your enemies means losing your friends, it becomes a self defeating proposition. The risk for America is that if our allies decide that they cannot rely on a strong United States, they will turn elsewhere. Britain and Poland could move closer to the foreign policy positions of Germany and France, weakening the Atlantic alliance. Japan talks about a more independent role, but in reality this means hedging its bets and cozying up to a rising China . Even India might be forced to be more accomodating to China, as the impetus for an alliance of Asia’s democracies fade.

These predictions may be unduly gloomy, and the Administration is belatedly trying to talk up its relationships with its allies. But there is still a point to be learnt. In reaching out to enemies or rivals, we gain nothing if we lose our friends.

Brazil is exercising its independence in foreign policy by not joining the international coalition against Iran. This, despite the fact that even Russia is sounding more positive on joining the US/EU line on Iran’s nuclear policy. What is actually at play here has nothing to do with Iran. Brazil aspires to play a global role. It even has a claim to a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Fair enough. I actually think Brazil deserves it. But with increased power and influence comes increased responsibility. A foreign policy based primarily on defying the United States and not on the actual issue at hand is not the sign of a global power. Brazil lessens its own credibility when it chooses not to join global solutions to the critical issues of the day.

Israel is the other country on my list. I am normally quite pro-Israel. I profoundly believe in Israel’s right to exist in peace within secure borders. It is for that reason that I, along with Israel’s other friends (eg the United States government) favor a two state solution. The alternative is one state in which Jews ultimately find themselves in the minority. Announcing more settlements then is a mistake as it makes achieving a two state solution that much harder. Furthermore, by announcing it at the very moment when Vice President Biden was in the country, Netanyahu is clearly telling President Obama that it is not going to play ball on the peace process. This is very unfortunate for Israel. Not only is it deferring a fading opportunity for peace. It is also thumbing its nose to its closest ally, and that is something that is especially unwise for a country with as few friends as Israel.

Brazil and Israel are in two parts of the world, but both are demonstrating the same determination to set a foreign policy that is independent of Washington. This is their right. But to act against your own interests (or those of the world community) just to defy the US, is hardly the sign of confident or rising nations.

The Chinese will never be satisified when it comes to our relationship with the Dalai Lama, so why not just do the right thing and give the man the respect that he deserves?

But there is one area where they can find common ground – callous indifference to the plight of one of nature’s most majestic creatures, the tiger. How ironic then, that this Year of the Tiger may also be its last.

Many Chinese covet tiger bones as an aphrodisiac and China has become an inexhaustable source of demand. Ever sensitive to being shamed by the world, the Chinese have officially banned the trade in tiger parts but in reality have turned a blind eye to this criminal trade. Acknowledging the effective extinction of the wild tiger in China, the Chinese run tiger “farms” where they breed them, grow them, kill them and then grind their bones to produce the natural Viagra they require to increase their virility.

India, for its part, is home to the largest wild tiger population in the world. At one time, the subcontinent was home to over one hundred thousands. Sadly, its tigers have been poached mercilessly by unscrupilous poachers who wish to supply the Chinese market. Shamefully, the Indian authorities have only reacted half heartedly. There are now barely a few thousand left and their extinction is imminent. Obviously neither the Chinese traders nor the Indian poachers have figured out that this lucrative elxir is about to come to an end forever as the wild tiger will soon be extinct.

As the source of the demand for tiger parts and for not doing anything about it, China shares its blame for the end of this majestic animal. For its utter indifference to its responsibility to protect this animal, India deserves even more shame – especially when the tiger is India’s national animal. It makes you wonder just how high some in Delhi regard their own country and heritage.

Welcome to the last Year of the Tiger

That the attack should (again) happen in areas where foreigners congregate now indicates exactly what Pakistani terrorists want. They are trying to scare foreigners away from India to hold back its growth. It is not enough for them that most foreigners wouldn’t dare step foot in Pakistan, they are trying to create the same conditions in India. It is India’s worst nightmare – a failing (failed?) Pakistan trying to drag India down with it.

Let’s see how this plays out

The Beijing games represented the best and worst of modern China. Spectacular feats of engineering, organization, talent, progress and well deserved pride – all underwritten by a government that is terrified of loosening its grip on any aspect of society, lest it be overthrown. Those opening events were designed to announce China’s rise to the world, and to demonstrate the power and capability of its all-knowing government at home. This had little to do with the Olympic spirit.

So I, for one, will be thrilled to see a more normal celebration of sport tonight in Vancouver – and not some type of over-the-top exercise of national power. Remember Berlin?

On those last two topics, some developments over the past few days:

1. China and Australia have signed a mammoth deal that gives China access to a gargantuan new cold field in Australia – further evidence that Australia is turning into a resource base for the industrializing Middle Kingdom the way it was once for the United Kingdom.

2. China says it has raided a major source of internet hacking. Recent criticism over Google must have stung. Of course, this does nothing with regards the official hacking into the security apparatus of the Pentagon and other Washington institutions. India just announced that Chinese hackers had compromised the computers of over 200 top Indian security officials including the three armed forces chiefs and the National Security Advisor.

An emerging Cold War indeed.