US LOSING INFLUENCE IN ASIA
US LOSING INFLUENCE IN ASIA: So say “government officials and analysts” quoted in the WaPo story Alliances Shifting in Northeast Asia. Thing is, the story provides no evidence for this assertion. The fact that South Korea is forming tighter relationships with other regional partners–the only example given–is hardly surprising. So, what’s behind the story? That’s right boys and girls, Bush bashing. It’s that failed diplomacy that Daschle talks about, you see:
“We are setting ourselves up as the source of instability in the region” by squaring off against North Korea and promoting a missile defense system that could prompt an arms race in the region, Sigal said.
“Everybody out here is cooperating to try to get the Americans to play” by negotiating with North Korea, he said. “If the Americans don’t play, the other countries will do it themselves. It could end up with everybody quietly collaborating against us.”
Right. . . . I think they said that about Ronald Reagan about 20 years ago, as he was moving us closer to nuclear war with the Soviets. You remember the Soviets don’t you?
