Brazilian Leader's U.S. Visit: How Obama Patched Up Ties After Spying Scandal
Brazilian Leader's U.S. Visit: How Obama Patched Up Ties After Spying Scandal
Rather than “fence-mending,” the bigger take-away of President Dilma Rousseff’s visit is that both the U.S. and Brazil have realized they need each other, underlines COA’s Eric Farnsworth.
Washington — When Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff sits down with President Obama at the White House Tuesday, their meeting will underscore the concerted effort Mr. Obama has made to win back key partners who were repelled by revelations of NSA spying on US friends and allies.
Nearly two years ago, Ms. Rousseff stunned the White House by canceling a planned state visit to Washington – a first for any state visit invitee – over WikiLeaks revelations of US spying on Brazilians, including her and her government....
....“There’s really been a focused effort from the White House over the past two years to reach out to the Brazilians and get the relationship beyond this low point,” says Eric Farnsworth, vice president of the Americas Society and Council of the Americas in Washington.
Obama dispatched Vice President Joe Biden to Brazil in January to meet with Rousseff, and in April Obama took advantage of a meeting with her on the margins of the Summit of the Americas to issue a second-time-the-charm invitation that resulted in this week’s visit.
Obama has also had to makes amends with German Chancellor Angela Merkel over revelations of the US listening in on her cellphone, and more recently with French President François Hollande over WikiLeaks evidence of US spying on French leaders. Obama reassured both leaders that such spying programs, and in particular eavesdropping on them personally, had ceased....
