"We agree to consider thinking about the possibility that it may be a concept worth discussing." Or words to that effect. That pretty much sums up the US attitude towards the rest of the world after a two-week conference on global warming.

"This is a new low for the United States, not just to pull out, but to block other countries from moving ahead on their own path," said Jeff Fiedler, an observer representing the Washington-based Natural Resources Defense Council. "It’s almost spiteful to say, ‘You can’t move ahead without us.’ If you’re not going to lead, then get out of the way."

The United States also stood virtually alone in challenging the scientific assumptions underlying the Kyoto Protocol. "Science tells us that we cannot say with any certainty what constitutes a dangerous level of warming, and therefore what level must be avoided," Paula Dobriansky, under secretary of state for global affairs and the leader of the American delegation, said in her remarks to the conference.

That’s the US foreign policy in a nutshell: we do what we damn well please.