By Tom Plate
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. ― Some thoughts about the political state of America and Asia. Nobody asked me for my views but here they are, anyway!
American foreign policy sometimes reacts with all the alacrity of a backlash of taffy. Pervez Musharraf's goose started to cook in the oven of political irrelevance way back last year when he sacked a slew of high court justices. Yet Washington stayed with him as if he were a Bush family member. That psychotic loyalty for this doomed former military man turned self-styled national savior paid off big-time ― but only in terms of alienating the Pakistani public. It did little for the ``war on terror,'' the ostensible reason for the blind backing of Pervez. Now he is history (bad history). Rotten regimes deserved to be dumped like the politically radioactive waste they become. Good riddance!
Do you know one thing both China and Russia have in common these days? They try not to listen to Washington too carefully. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warns Beijing not to use the terrorist threat to justify severe security measures as bombs go off right and left in Xinjiang. That western province is home to a gnarly Uighur minority that's about as happy being part of China as the average Tibetan monk. U.S. President George W. Bush orders Russia's Vladimir Putin to get his troops out of Georgia, which to Moscow is like a dangerous Cuba. In response, Moscow sends in more troops … who may stay right there. What clout the Bush administration has earned!
Two top pros who don't get enough media credit are the U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Japan's Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda. Neither have the requisite Clint Eastwood screen persona, but they are exceptionally competent, precise and hardworking. Ban has at least three more years to go on the job, Fukuda (hurting in domestic polls) maybe three months. Ban's pretty sharp ― he may even wind up with a second four-year term. Fukuda, 72, is all but finished, alas. They are both good men.
Some day the summer Olympics will actually be over. Hooray! But after all the star athletes and star media people have left, Taiwan will still be there, not that far from Shanghai ― only a hundred or so miles directly offshore the closest part of the mainland itself. Beijing has been getting high marks, on the whole, for these Olympics. But settling things amicably with Taiwan (which China regards as a disloyal, breakaway brat) will be worth a gold, silver and bronze. The key will be getting China President Hu Jintao and Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou in a room together for a few days far removed from the troublemakers on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. I'd be happy to pay for the room ― and, of course, have it bugged for my column!
The country with the world's second largest population may be the hardest to figure out. This South Asian giant is touted by the American foreign-policy establishment as a fabulously worthy investment and a big-time counterbalance to China. But the Indians invest less in themselves and their infrastructure (percentage-wise) than a badly-run African nation (i.e., most of them). And the Indians historically hate being played as a counter to anyone and are most comfortable in a non-aligned, above-the-fray role. But the geopolitical brainiacs in New York and Washington don't seem to get it ― just like they didn't get Pakistan right (see above). On the other hand, I'm not sure if anyone outside of India actually gets India.
If the U.S. can cut a deal with the once-toxic government of Moammar Kadafi in Libya, why not with North Korea? One new answer to that comes from veteran TV journalist Mike Chinoy. His new book ``Meltdown" ― a cleanly written running narrative of U.S. relations with North Korea from Clinton through Bush ― makes you wonder if the Bush administration ever really wanted a true settlement. Now, with just a few lame-duck months left, Washington is scrambling to get something substantial for the seven-and-one-half years of ineffective non-diplomacy.
Too little ― too late? In the end, history will judge, but until history gets around to the job, consider Chinoy's current assessment. ``As the Bush administration entered its final months, the internal battle for control of North Korean policy, which began within days of [President Bush] taking office in 2001, showed no signs of ending." A stronger, better President of the United States would have had a clearer vision on the Korean issue, and banged heads together to present a coherent policy in the interests of peace.
Well, nobody asked me, but there you have it.
Syndicated columnist Tom Plate, on a book-writing leave from UCLA, is the founder of Asia Media and the Pacific Perspectives Media Center (PPMC). His email address is platecolumn@hotmail.com.