article_snippet.sent: The reality is that the United States has been losing ground in this increasingly important region, and President Barack Obama needs to put on a strong performance in Panama at the Summit of the Americas the Americas if the United States is to have a chance of improving ties with neighbors who should be best friends, but who have drifted away as the United States has been focused on challenges at home and instability in the Middle East.
article_snippet.sent: Unfortunately, the United States has lost influence in the United States to a hyperactive China, a cunning Russia and a troubling Iran, all of which have made inroads in the region at Washington's expense.
article_snippet.sent: As a result of all this, the Americans looked dumb, incompetent -- and cheap.
article_snippet.sent: America was cornered.
article_snippet.sent: Back then, America had just led the creation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and actually seemed to stand for something attractive to the region, namely democracy, free trade and economic growth.
article_snippet.sent: Today, the people want prosperity, the people want democracy, and the people want the rule of law -- all of which leave a potential opening for America.