US Features
Clinton's maiden trip reflects importance of Asia
Feb 14, 2009, 19:48 GMT
Washington - Hillary Rodham Clinton arrives in Asia on Monday on her first trip abroad as secretary of state for wide ranging discussions on the economic crisis, global warming and the common objective of ending North Korea's nuclear weapons programme.
Clinton's travel to Japan, Indonesia, South Korea and China from Monday to February 22 breaks with the tradition of first going to Europe but reflects the importance President Barack Obama's administration is placing on the role of Asia in diplomatic and global economic affairs.
'American long-term interests are deeply entwined with Asia's future. And I think that statement that she is going to that region first is a very important one to make,' said Sheila Smith, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Clinton outlined a rigorous agenda for her visit in a speech to the Asia Society in New York on Friday, pledging to strengthen relations across a wide spectrum of issues and said it was an 'easy choice' to pick Asia ahead of other regions for her maiden trip.
'Our capacity to solve a lot of the global challenges that we're confronting depends upon decisions that are made there,' Clinton said.
Clinton wants to broaden the US relationship with China to address a host of challenges, but will also touch on thorny issues like human rights concerns and greenhouse gases while seeking Beijing's crucial support for reversing the economic downturn and pressuring North Korea.
'What we can do and the sequencing of how effective our recovery will be is very intimately connected with what the Chinese are doing and the decisions they're making,' Clinton said.
Clinton's choice to include China in her first trip sends a strong signal the United States takes seriously Beijing's rise as a regional and global power, Mike Chinoy, a senior fellow at the Los Angeles- based Pacific Council on International Policy, said.
'When history books are written in 50 years, how the United States dealt with the emergence of China is going to be one of the couple themes of our era,' Chinoy said.
In Japan, China and South Korea, Clinton will focus on getting the six-nation negotiations with North Korea back on track, after the talks stalled over the process of verifying Pyongyang's disclosure about the extent of its nuclear activities.
In Tokyo and Seoul, Clinton will have to deal with governments that have taken a harder line approach to North Korea and have been sceptical about the softer stance taken by former president George W Bush toward the end of his administration in order to forge a deal with Pyongyang.
The Japanese felt that the Bush administration did not do enough to push the North Koreans on the abductions of Japanese citizens, while South Korea has been concerned by menacing threats from the North, including the scrapping of a 17-year-old nonaggression pact and a warning the two sides were on the 'brink of war.' Reports of North Korea preparing for a ballistic missile test has further eroded relations in the region.
'A lot of the North Korean rhetoric and sabre-rattling, staking out extreme positions, makes the next major American move on the North Korea issue more complicated and problematic,' Chinoy, the author of Meltdown: The Inside Story of the North Korean Nuclear Crisis, said.
Clinton announced Friday she intends to meet with the Japanese families of abductees to show Washington is sensitive to Tokyo's concerns.
North Korea agreed two years ago to dismantle it nuclear programme in exchange for improved diplomatic relations, economic and energy aid, and a formal peace treaty to the 1950-1953 war. Before her departure, Clinton said the United States stood by its terms in the disarmament pact accepted by Bush.
'If North Korea is genuinely prepared to completely and verifiably eliminate their nuclear weapons programme, the Obama administration will be willing to normalize bilateral relations, replace the peninsula's long-standing armistice agreements with a permanent peace treaty, and assist in meeting the energy and other economic needs of the North Korean people,' Clinton said.
Clinton's comments carry extra weight because pledges made under the previous administration were viewed sceptically by Pyongyang, aware that hardline ideologues in Bush's White House opposed the State Department-led negotiations, Chinoy said.
'The new administration ought to consider giving North Korea some kind of bigger picture of what an end game would look like, things that get beyond just non-proliferation,' he said.
Clinton's stop in Indonesia will place her in the Muslim world's most populous country in a trip the could foreshadow a visit later this year by Obama, who as a child attended school there while living with his mother and Indonesian stepfather.
There is speculation Obama could go to Indonesia before attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering in Singapore in November to reach out to Muslims.
'I would not be surprised if there isn't a visit arranged to Indonesia, maybe not in the next six months but at some point relatively soon,' Paul Stares of the Council on Foreign Relations said.
COMMENT
blog comments powered by DisqusLatest Headlines in US
- 1. Mitt Romney Addresses Tea Party Summit Pictures
- 2. Seven injured as US Navy plane crashes into apartments
- 3. At least three injured in US Navy plane crash
- 4. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, others to face death penalty trial
- 5. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, four others to face death penalty trial
Older Talkback
page: 1
God you are an idiot, a liar and wrong. Please, just once prove your allegations.
Dear SP4,
Loved the phonetic chinese bit. You'll be talking about flied lice next. I'm beginning to form a mental picture of you. Do you, by any chance, drive a pickup truck and own forty odd firearms, you good 'ol boy?
...I'd be happy to answer that... just as soon as you can attach a shred of relevance to what any of that might have to do with Hillary Clintons on-the-recod history of lies, illegal campaign contributions (Mr. Hsu..ahhh yooou remembah!..he's ah dooink tahme fo eet, unnastahn?)...selling influence(caught in act on free trade with Columbia during her campaign)....etc.
oh yeah, John Bull, here's some gun facts your nannny care government doesn't want you to know, on top of stifling free speech, last week:
A LITTLE GUN HISTORY
In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control. From 1929 to 1953, about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
------------------------------
In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
------------------------------
In 1938, Germany established gun control. From 1939 to 1945, a total of 13 million Jews and others who were unable to defend themselves were rounded up and exterminated.
------------------------------
In 1935, China established gun control. From 1948 to 1952, 20 million political dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated
------------------------------
In 1964, Guatemala established gun control. From 1964 to 1981, 100,000 Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
------------------------------
In 1970, Uganda established gun control. From 1971 to 1979, 300,000 Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
------------------------------
In 1956, Cambodia established gun control. From 1975 to 1977, one million educated' people, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
-----------------------------
Defenseless people rounded up and exterminated in the 20th Century because of gun
control: 56 million.
------------------------------
It has now been 12 months since gun owners in Australia were forced by new law to surrender 640,381 personal firearms to be destroyed by their own Government, a program costing Australia taxpayers more than $500 million dollars.
The first year results are now in:
List of 7 items:
Australia-wide, homicides are up 3.2 percent
Australia-wide, assaults are up 8.6 percent
Australia-wide, armed robberies are up 44 percent (yes, 44 percent)!
In the state of Victoria alone, homicides with firearms are now up 300 percent. Note that while the law-abiding citizens turned them in, the criminals did not, and criminals still possess their guns!
While figures over the previous 25 years showed a steady decrease in armed robbery with firearms, this has changed drastically upward in the past 12 months, since criminals now are guaranteed that their prey is unarmed.
There has also been a dramatic increase in break-ins and assaults of the ELDERLY. Australian politicians are at a loss to explain how public safety has decreased, after such monumental effort, and expense was expended in successfully ridding Australian society of guns The Australian experience and the other historical facts above prove it.
You won't see this datum on the US evening news, or hear politicians disseminating this information.
Guns in the hands of honest citizens save lives and property and, yes, gun-control laws adversely affect only the law-abiding citizens.
Take note my fellow Americans, before it's too late!
The next time someone talks in favor of gun control, please remind them of this history lesson.
With guns, we are 'citizens'. Without them, we are 'subjects'.
During WWII the Japanese decided not to invade America because they knew most
Americans were ARMED!
If you value your freedom, Please spread this anti-gun control message to all of your friends.
The purpose of fighting is to win. There is no possible victory in defense. The sword is more important than the shield, and skill is more important than either. The final weapon is the brain. All else is supplemental.
As John Steinbeck once said:
1. Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.
2. If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics stink.
3. I carry a gun because a cop is too heavy.
4. When seconds count, the cops are just minutes away.
5. A reporter did a human-interest piece on the Texas Rangers. The reporter recognized the Colt Model 1911 the Ranger was carrying and asked him 'Why do you carry a 45?' The Ranger responded, 'Because they don't make a 46.'
6. An armed man will kill an unarmed man with monotonous regularity.
7. The old sheriff was attending an awards dinner when a lady commented on his wearing his sidearm. 'Sheriff, I see you have your pistol. Are you expecting trouble?' 'No Ma'am. If I were expecting trouble, I would have brought my rifle.'
8. Beware the man who only has one gun. HE PROBABLY KNOWS HOW TO USE IT!!!
But wait, there's more!
I was once asked by a lady visiting if I had a gun in the house. I said I did. She said 'Well I certainly hope it isn't loaded!' To which I said, 'Of course it is loaded, can't work without bullets!' She then asked, 'Are you that afraid of someone evil coming into your house?' My reply was, 'No, not at all. I am not afraid of the house catching fire either, but I have fire extinguishers around, and they are all loaded too.' To which I'll add, having a gun in the house that isn't loaded is like having a car in the garage without gas in the tank.
I'm a firm believer of the 2nd Amendment! If you are too, please forward.
..some folks make fun of a person's accent
...others what they drive, shoot, wear or where they're from
Tell us, John Bull, share your razor sharp insight and tell us which one is the bigot?
Hey idiots stick, you really should give credit to the person who really wrote this posted dribble. You know how I can tell you did not write it? First it actually made sense, and second there is not a misspelled word in most of the article---the part someone else wrote. You should have given credit to the author.
...if you have something meaningful to offer (and you do not), by all means do so, otherwise, let the grown ups talk here. Now, run upsatairs and ask your Dad why he went down and bought a pet monkey and then your name on it's collar. It may be just me, but I'd bet he's just upgrading!
'...if you have something meaningful to offer (and you do not), by all means do so, otherwise, let the grown ups talk here. Now, run upsatairs and ask your Dad why he went down and bought a pet monkey and then your name on it's collar. It may be just me, but I'd bet he's just upgrading!'
Hey idiots stick---I guess it is OK for you who is representative (thank god not for the left) of the right wing with your statements (lies) on this board. I would like to think that because you constantly want to claim the 'higher ground' for idiots like you that you would want to let people know when you steal others work. Just thought I would point out what a phony you are and that it is people like you that got this country into the position it is in.
PS the projection you put out there is that your dad must have locked you in the basement and molested you? Must hate your father and probably 'love' other men?
I wholeheartedly endorse the previous comment. The only thing that may give cause for regret is that, for some inexplicable reason, his Dad apparantly decided to let him out again. I never envisaged that my innocent little contribution would provoke so long or deranged a rant.....
Dear SP4,
What colour is your pickup truck?
The facts are, SP4 has nothing but this board and the GOP. He does not seem to have a life outside this board and will not admit he is as big of loser as the GOP.
Ah! You have explained much. I did not realise. I feel deeply, deeply ashamed. One should not mock the afflicted..
I actually try to avoid drawing conclusions about pseudointellectual libnazis but...
..then someone like you comes along and reconfirms my thesis.
Faced with a real argument you, like the rest, retreat into your own prejudices, covered with the dung of some sort of conclusions about anyone with a pickup, SUV, house with four bedrooms, a firearm, hot rod, motorcycle (off road, after all, libnazis are not going to give up Motoguzzi's), more-than-three children, an electric guitar, a tool box,...honestly, it's hard to keep track because libnazis are habitually never happy about anything and the list is sooo damn long!
This is far easier than defending the undefendable positions, as you can plainly see from the previous posts. This is another stellar example of why a Joe-the-Plummer or a Sarah Palin is dismembered in the press, because confronting their views is more frightening to them. Obama proved that, conclusively when he f--ked up and attacked Limbaugh, who then proceeded to go on every talk show that suddenly demanded him, allowing him to make another 20 million a year.
No, I actually don't own a pick up, but I do think I'll go out and buy one, if this president can manage to keep the price of fuel down where Bush left it!
Dear SP4,
I have restrained myself from making any substantive response to your opaque drivel thus far: Not because I am awed to silence by the cogency of your arguments but because;
A) Other users of this site have intimated that direct response only serves to provoke you to submit more tripe,
and
B) Just as I would not waste my time discussing Voltaire with a chimpanzee, I will not engage in a lengthy Political or Economic debate with your good self.
As for my alleged 'Libnazi' stance, you could hardly be wider of the mark. I believe in unrestrained freedom of expression FOR ALL, a minimalist state, laissez faire economics, and a strong democratic western alliance led primarily by the English speaking peoples; and foremost among them by your own great nation. The reason I have been sticking pins in you (and eliciting some hilarious responses) is that I happened upon one of your ill considered little remarks which sought to disparage MY country.
Here is a snippet, just a snippet of my point of view. I wonder if you will experience a glimmer of self conciousness if you read it?
As a REAL Libertarian, I’ve always distrusted arguments that derive ultimately from the premise: “I think this is wrong, so you should not be able to do it.” It’s a stance that’s adopted habitually by the nutty ‘moral’ right, and po-faced ‘politically correct’ left alike: Not to mention various other species of maggot minded idiot, perhaps best definable collectively as those prone to sit in front of TV sets for hours watching things they disapprove of (access to fifty-odd other channels and an “off” button notwithstanding) just so they can be virtuously outraged and then write turgid little tracts bemoaning the “moral turpitude” or “antediluvian prejudices” of our society.
These sanctimonious clowns are so obsessed with the furtherance of their own pet causes that, in order to promote them, they will accede blithely to almost any suppression of others freedoms. Like all self-appointed custodians of “correct” opinion, their arrogance blinds them to the possibility that any dissentient view could have even the slightest merit. One cannot help but feel that in many cases their motivations accord closely with those of Macaulay’s Puritans who “--hated bear baiting, not because it gave pain to the bear, but because it gave pleasure to the spectators.”
When you can so phrase an argument, join back in the debate. Until then, be hush child.
Good! That seems to have done the trick. Half-arse suppressed. Now for the other buttock: Yoo-hoooo, Lancey baby, where are yoooooo?
...you're not unique: most of these chuckleheads can't pick a side any better, or worse, than you. Now you can hide behind all that, but in the end, it does not hide you.
You sir, are as bigoted and prejudiced as David Duke, or Jesse Jackson but just with different folks i.e. they happen to be white, maybe poor and, to you, uneducated, not that you'd ever really condescend to actually speak to these folks, because, deep down, you'd feel soiled, or afraid your friends would find out. Like Dan Rather and his buddies, you think you have friends like this, but not really.
Heck, that is as libnazi as recycling toilet paper.
Libertarian? Sure, OK, whatever gets you to sleep at night, but never think that this front is working because the veneer of your pseudointellectualism, only 1,000th of an inch thick, can ever hide the bedrock of effete, snobish, elitist, provincial, bigotry that resides below.
Our universities are run by elitist snobs like this that I call the church of the divine libnazi, using acadamia to construct a new form of worship, with folks like you as priest, inquisitor, followers, etc. They have all made one fundimental mistake:
knowledge is not wisdom.
Now run back and read Ayn Rand, or whatever raises your skirt, but never for a second think you've fooled anyone.
USA without gun control - 25,000 gun deaths per year.
The five states with the highest per capita gun death rates -- Louisiana, Alaska, Montana, Tennessee and Alabama -- had a per capita gun death rate far exceeding the national per capita gun death rate of 10.32 per 100,000.
Louisiana had the highest rate of gun death, 19.04 per 100,000 and has household gun ownership of 45.6 percent. Alaska had a gun death rate 17.49 per 100,000 and household gun ownership of 60.6 percent. Montana had a gun death rate of 17.22 per 100,000 and 61.4 percent gun ownership.
Conversely, states with the lowest levels of gun ownership had the lowest levels of gun death rates.
..we also kill 50,000 people a year on the highways, but no one is clamoring for removing car ownership. This is the flaw of libnazi thinking: we live in an advanced democracy with rights and those rights have responsibilities that come with them. None of the libnazi elite will admit to the fact that, if you have a weapon at the time a crime is perpetrated on you, you have twice the chance of not being injured.
Libnazi politicians remove gun ownership in places like Wash D.C. with no meaningful gains in civil order. They turn the populace into victims as in Chicago, or New York. In each case, they are never there to defend the glaring failure of gun control, only in criminalizing honest and decent gun owners. Thankfully, we have five people on the Supreme Court who understand our rights.
page: 1
SP4: Oh yeahFeb 15th, 2009 - 15:20:53
...because after 8 years of acccepting cash for favors like MFN for China, passing NAFTA, GATT, WTO and facilitating her backers in Asia, who would be more happy to see Hillary coming? 'I'm ah Missah Hsu..an theese ah Sahndah Bergarur...we ah gota deiro fo yoou!'
No one has more to gain from trade with Asia than Warren Buffet. Now go see who HE backed in the last election...
Report this comment