United States 'behind the eight ball' in Northeast Asia

By Edward Neilan

The Monica case aside, the American image has been dulled by miserable North Korea policy, rudeness and lack of flair.

TOKYO (JP): The United States finds itself "behind the eight ball" in Northeast Asia as President Bill Clinton prepares to travel to Tokyo and Seoul next month.

The two-day stopovers in Japan (Nov. 19-20) and South Korea (Nov. 21-22) are afterthoughts following cancellation of plans to visit India and Pakistan since those two nations misbehaved in U.S. eyes by testing nuclear weapons recently.

Language students and pool hall habitues know that the slang expression means "in a highly disadvantageous position or baffling situation." Or "in a very unfavorable status."

Precisely.

The U.S. is "behind the eight ball" in Northeast Asia in terms of protocol, policy and panache.

Protocol because Washington has treated Tokyo like some upstart Third World nation recently, ignoring a request for a stopover to or from the extended trip to China last summer and pouring on criticism of handling of the Japanese economy and its political underpinning. Some of the talk has been so bluntly interventionist that it would never be tolerated in Washington if the shoe were on the other foot.

Japan-bashing, though usually uncalled for, has become politically safe in most U.S. constituencies, and is enjoying an open season policy because on North Korea the U.S. has based its stance on helping Pyongyang build up its nuclear processing plants. The support continues even after North Korea shoots a rocket across Japan and employs its unending variety of blackmail over talks. The U.S. became miffed at Japan when Tokyo, seeking some sign of contrition from the north, failed to sign up for its share of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) agreement.

The U.S. thinks any agreement with the north -- even nuclear aid -- is better than no agreement at all.

Are you kidding me, or what? Look at North Korea's record. It's more likely that Pyongyang will self-destruct than follow any format of diplomatic solution proposed by the White House.

On this particular issue, the White House is "behind the eight ball" with Congress which wonders why North Korea's antics should be rewarded.

Further, South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung and Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi held a very productive summit through last weekend and spoke to having an enlarged meeting beyond the four-way (North, South Korea, U.S. and China) talks on Korea already proposed.

President Kim showed he has a wry sense of humor by suggesting at one point that Mongolia be invited to the talks to make it a seven-way negotiation. The next thing you know, somebody will suggest Bhutan's attendance.

The U.S. is cool to the Kim-Obuchi idea of adding Japan and Russia to the table but if the State Department thinks the Korean peninsula problem will be solved without Japan, a quick reality check is needed.

Panache because the U.S. has lost its flair. There hasn't been a Washington initiative on Northeast Asia since America backed South Korea to be host for the 1988 Olympic Games.

Where are the great ambassadors of yesterday -- the Edwin Reischauers and Mike Mansfields, the Michael Armacosts and James Lilleys, the Howard Jones' and Dixie Walkers and U. Alexis Johnsons?

Where indeed are the Henry Kissingers and John Foster Dulles'. We'll even take a James Baker instead of the impostor Madeline Albright who has scarcely spent a night in Asia.

The summer trip to China by President Clinton reaffirmed suspicions that the U.S. is being manipulated by Asian nations with questionable intent. There can be little doubt that China is aiming to boost its national interests rather than the common good.

The ultimate manipulation is the blackmail by North Korea of the United States on the nuclear and other issues. It is a pathetic thing to see.

The Monica Lewinsky scandal, whatever its merits as a reason for impeachment of Bill Clinton, has distracted the world; it has kept the man in the White House from addressing the problems that are the responsibility of the globe's only legitimate superpower.

These remarks are not meant to be facetious nor flippant, but Americans living in the region notice a pronounced drift in U.S. Asian policies.