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and popular culture. (Photo of the Mississippi River
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Secretary Clinton at the United Nations General
Assembly meeting in New York. U.S. State Department photo.
While Campaign 2012 rages on in its full negativity mode and
rumors swirl about a possible Clinton candidacy in 2016, the AP reports that hardworking
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is on the job trying to calm Asian waters:
NEW YORK — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton urged China's top
diplomat on Thursday to peacefully resolve increasingly tense maritime disputes
with Japan and its smaller neighbors in Southeast Asia.
A senior U.S. official said Clinton had pressed Chinese Foreign Minister
Yang Jiechi on the importance of settling its conflicting claim with Japan over
the Japanese-held Senkaku islands, called Diaoyu by China, along with numerous
competing claims in the South China Sea with members of the Association of
South East Asian Nations.
The official was not authorized to publicly discuss the
private discussion between Clinton and Yang on the sidelines of the annual U.N.
General Assembly and therefore requested anonymity. Clinton was expected to
make the same case to Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba when she meets
with him in New York.
A smoke plume from the Fukushima nuclear power plant after an explosion at reactor number one. Credits: Public Domain.
Kazuaki Nagata at the Japan Times reports this morning that following Germany’s lead, Japan is awakening to the threats of nuclear energy and may shift its emphasis to safer sources of renewable energy such as solar and wind. We can only wonder when the U.S. will heed the wake-up call so tragically sounded by the Fukushima nuclear crisis.
Nagata writes:
The Fukushima nuclear crisis changed the national debate over energy policy almost overnight.
By shattering the government's long-pitched safety myth about nuclear power, the crisis dramatically raised public awareness about energy use and sparked strong antinuclear sentiment.
And as the government gropes for a new long-term energy strategy, intense debate both at the political and public level is expected to take place over whether Japan should end its reliance on atomic power just as Germany has vowed to do.
"Energy policy discussions within the government are no longer just about nuclear power," said Tetsunari Iida, executive director of the Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies and a long-time foe of nuclear power.
Before March 11, the government and media had generally ignored the voices of alternative energy advocates, he said. But the disaster poisoned the favorable environment for the pronuclear bureaucracy and all of the nation's reactors may find themselves idle in the coming months — at least temporarily — if politicians fail to ease Japan's boiling anitinuclear sentiment.
As of Dec. 25, only six of the nation's 54 reactors were running. But even these will be halted by spring for scheduled inspections, bringing electricity supplies to dangerous lows.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton with Britain's Foreign Secretary David Miliband at the start of a NATO and EU dinner at Egmont Palace in Brussels, Wednesday March 4, 2009. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
*For an update and video on Secretary Clinton’s speech in Brussels posted at Seattlepi.com, go here.
The media in general has continued its good old boy best to find fault with Secretary Clinton regardless of where she has traveled lately or what she has achieved. For example, check out this malicious rant in Reuters by David Brunnstrom on her recent trip to Europe in which Brunnstrom only grudgingly reports the warm reception Clinton received.
Western Canada based Politonomist provides a more accurate account of the secretary’s achievements so far. Tom Prout reports:
Though her personal website is free of a list of her accomplishments in the role, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has been exceptionally busy since her appointment as Secretary of State on January 21, 2009.
Mrs. Clinton’s appointment was much more than a show of good faith by her recent democratic rival Barack Obama; to her position at the head of the State Department she brings a wealth of international, diplomatic contacts acquired over her 8 years serving as First Lady. Traveling the world alongside former US President Bill Clinton involved much work pertinent to her current endeavors and is proving to be invaluable as her duties evolve.
In her trip to Japan (February 16-18), her first trip abroad since coming into office, Secretary Clinton discussed, with senior Japanese government officials in Japan, the strategic bilateral alliance and cooperation with Japan on regional and global issues. One such issue was, not surprisingly, the economy: Japan’s economy is the second largest in the world and parallels were drawn between the stimulus put forward by the US Government and potential solutions in Japan.
Secretary Clinton stressed in an interview with CBS, when talking about a possible solution between the US and Japan, “that we don’t build walls between us, that we don’t engage in activity that will worsen the financial situation”, adding that both countries were aware of that. As has been reiterated before on many an occasion, the current policy for handling the recent financial crisis is that once national affairs are in a comfortable state, international bonds will be forged to simultaneously bolster the markets. When questions about the ‘Buy American’ clause arose, Secretary Clinton articulated that no existing international agreements would be violated for the sake of self preservation.
Politonomics, unlike many of its American counterparts, stated Clinton’s position accurately on human rights during her visit to China:
In spite of setting aside differences for the duration of the trip, Mrs. Clinton did make clear in a report what she thought of China’s human rights record, proving that even in extenuating circumstances certain things are intolerable. Critics are interested to see the plans the Secretary of State has in store for resolving these differences, once the current financial crisis is resolved, whenever that may be.
Below is Politonomics summary of the secretary’s visit to the Middle-East and Europe:
Secretary Clinton is currently visiting the Middle East and Europe between March 1-7, a trip which began with participation in the donor’s conference for Gaza recovery held in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchel was amongst the many high-level world representatives present when the US pledged $900 million to the cause of rebuilding Gaza strip. The strip has been destroyed by days of fighting between Fatah and Hamas caused by refusal to establish a Palestinian state. The money, as well as scheduled talks, are also put forward to find a possible solution to the issue; Clinton has vowed to strive towards peace in the Middle East.
The United States, Britain, the European Union, and the six member states of the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) contributed combined sums far beyond the $2.8 billion initially hoped for by the Palestinian Authority. Following the conference, Clinton met with senior officials from Egypt, Israel, and Palestinian Territories for discussions.
Today, March 5th, Secretary Clinton attended a NATO meeting in Brussels with other foreign ministers as a preparatory discussion for the NATO summit scheduled to be held April 3-4th. In conjunction with this meeting, individual meetings were held during which transatlantic bonds, such as with Russia, were deliberated on. Tomorrow, the talks with Russia will continue in reference to the dire conditions in Afghanistan and how the two countries plan to work together to achieve common international goals.
The European visit will conclude on March 7th with a visit to the Turkish capital, Ankara, where key Turkish officials will engage in discussions with the Secretary similar to those held in other countries over the trip.
In its account of Secretary Clinton’s activities, Politonomics lives up to its goals:
Politonomist.com is an enterprising Western Canada-based social, economic and political news organization, providing a detailed, thorough and diverse range of news from a variety of perspectives and opinions. Unlike other major business and economic news organizations, we aim to include political scientists and economists from a range of different belief camps - aiming for a varied and fair look at different events, statistics and information.
Wyatt Andrews at CBS News reports on Hillary Clinton's challenges in Japan. Watch video below. Plus, the Japanese finance minister who was videotaped drunk has just resigned. Go here to see that video.
On her history-making first trip abroad, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reassures Japan of its status as an American ally and pauses during her visit in Tokyo to firmly respond to North Korea’s threats to conduct a missile launch.
"If North Korea abides by the obligations it has already entered into and verifiably and completely eliminates its nuclear program, then there will be a reciprocal response, certainly from the United States," Clinton said. "But the decision as to whether North Korea will cooperate in [negotiations], end provocative language and actions, is up to them -- and we are watching very closely."
Clinton, who arrived here on the first stop of her Asian tour Monday, also surprised the embattled government of Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso by extending an invitation for him to visit the White House on Feb. 24, making him the first foreign leader to receive such an invitation from President Obama.
At the top of her game as a diplomat and world citizen, Clinton also participated in several ceremonial events:
At an elaborate arrival ceremony Monday night, Clinton lauded the U.S.-Japanese partnership, calling it "a cornerstone of our efforts around the world." She addressed a group of dignitaries that included two female Japanese astronauts who participated in the U.S. space shuttle program and Japanese Special Olympics athletes who recently competed in Idaho.
On Tuesday morning, Clinton participated in another welcoming ceremony and a purification rite at a Shinto shrine to former Emperor Meiji. She was given tea and exchanged gifts with the main priests, telling them that she appreciated the message of "harmony and peace that this shrine represents."
Later, she told about 200 U.S. Embassy employees that the notion of peace and harmony was "not only a good concept for religious shrines, it's a good concept for America's role in the world. We need to be looking to create more balance, more harmony."
Breaking ground in her role as secretary of state, Kessler reports that Clinton is the first U.S. secretary of state in nearly 50 years to visit Asia during his or her first trip abroad.
Dick Morris, removed from President Bill Clinton’s political team in 1996, continues to seek revenge in his attacks on Hillary Clinton. Morris posted in the Hill on Monday a piece titled Hillary’s incredible shrinking role. Here’s the lead paragraph: “Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is finding that her job description is dissolving under her feet, leaving her with only a vestige of the power she must have thought she acquired when she signed on to be President Obama’s chief Cabinet officer.”
You’ve got it wrong, Dick.
Robert D. Kaplan in the Atlantic sets the record straight:
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has chosen Asia as the destination for her first overseas trip. Starting this Sunday, she’ll be on a week-long trip to Japan, South Korea, China, and Indonesia. This has significance for several reasons.
Asian economies have been dramatically expanding since the 1970s – no surprise there. But what is less widely recognized is their equally dramatic military expansion, which has transformed them from low-tech land forces to high-tech, civilian-military, air and sea post-industrial complexes. Asia is bristling with nationalism and weaponry, even as Europe drifts into functional pacifism (despite its contribution to NATO forces in Afghanistan). It is this joining of economic might with military might that makes Asia the strategic focal point of the new century.
The Bush Administration understood this reality, but could not address it because it was preoccupied with Iraq and Afghanistan. The new Obama Administration is also preoccupied with Iraq and Afghanistan. But whereas former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was running all over the world on her own, the Obama White House has reorganized the top levels of the State Department so that certain issues, like the Greater Middle East, can be delegated to special envoys, allowing Clinton to give Asia the attention it deserves.
A measure of the new administration’s realization of the importance and nuances of Asia is demonstrated by Clinton’s decision to add Indonesia to the itinerary. Indonesia is crucial for many more reasons than the fact that President Obama went to school there for a few years as a child. It is the largest Muslim country in the world and the fourth most populous one. It commands the narrow Strait of Malacca, which is the world’s energy highway, where supertankers transport Middle Eastern oil to the burgeoning middle class fleshpots of the Pacific Rim. Thailand – Southeast Asia’s former political linchpin – is polarized and increasingly unstable, and Malaysia and Singapore are facing their own difficult political transitions, but Indonesia seems to be on its way to becoming an authentically stable Muslim democracy.
