The White House does not have its act together:

On the network morning shows this Monday, they opened with news about Bush returning from his Asia trip. The news reader for NBC's Today and ABC's Good Morning America both said that Bush hadn't accomplished anything on the trip. Another flub for Bush, you might say. But it didn't have to be that way. In Kissinger's book, Diplomacy, he writes that when leaders meet, it's not to do much actual negotiation, but to have a ceremony to ratify an agreed-upon statement or treaty. Did Bush have anything like that during his trip? Here is a list of Asia-trip-related events from the White House website. See if you can spot the "accomplishments":

President Discusses Freedom and Democracy in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Joint Statement Between Mongolia and the United States of America
President Meets with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao
President Meets with President Hu of the People's Republic of China
President's Remarks to the Travel Pool in China
President Attends Church Service at Gangwashi Church in Beijing, China
President Addresses Troops at Osan Air Base in Osan, Korea
President Bush Meets with President Putin of Russia
Fact sheet APEC Summit 2005
President and President Roh Discuss Strong U.S.-Korean Alliance
Joint Declaration on the ROK-U.S. Alliance and Peace on the Korean Peninsula
Joint Vision Statement on the ASEAN-U.S. Enhanced Partnership
President Discusses Freedom and Democracy in Kyoto, Japan
President and Prime Minister of Japan Discuss Strong Relationship

Besides talk, there are three items that could possibly be meaningful: Joint Statement between Mongolia and the United States, whatever is buried in the Fact Sheet for the APEC SUMMIT 2005, and the ASEAN-US Joint Vision Statement.

Aside from numerous pledges to "work together" and "cooperate", the Joint Statement contains this earth-shaking announcement:

President Bush welcomed Mongolia's support for the Proliferation Security Initiative to halt the spread of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and for its commitment to sign and ratify the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.

Wow!

What about the APEC SUMMIT, you ask? Take a look at these boffo accomplishments:

• President Bush reiterated his commitment to enhancing both security and prosperity in the APEC region.
• President Bush urged other leaders to join the United States in taking bold action to ensure an ambitious, market-opening outcome for the Doha Development Agenda
• [Intellectual Property Rights] Leaders agreed to build further on this important work in coming years in close consultation with the private sector.
• Leaders agreed with President Bush to take action to facilitate trade and investment, improve transparency and regulatory practices, and simplify administrative procedures. The plan of action, known as the Busan Business Agenda, contains concrete steps to achieve free and open regional trade by establishing a pro-business environment in the Asia-Pacific region.
• [Flu] They agreed to collaborate and cooperate in a transparent and open manner, provide timely and complete reporting of avian influenza cases, undertake early implementation of the revised International Health Regulations, [etc]
• APEC Leaders endorsed U.S. initiatives to lower the threat from Man-Portable Air Defense Systems (MANPADS) and ensure the safe handling and trade of radioactive sources that could be used to make "dirty" bombs. Each APEC member committed to undertake a MANPADS Vulnerability Assessment at an international airport by the end of 2006 to identify areas for aviation security improvements ...
• Leaders agreed to respond to the impact of high oil prices by taking action on important supply- and demand-side measures, including: increasing oil production and refining capabilities, maintaining oil stocks to respond to oil supply disruptions, promoting investment in the energy sector, improving the functioning of the global oil market, and promoting energy efficiency and diversification.
• Following on their bold commitments to fight corruption made last year in Santiago, Chile, APEC Leaders agreed to intensify regional cooperation to deny safe haven to officials and individuals guilty of corruption, make the implementation of principles of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) a top priority ...

Aside from the Busan Business Agenda, everything else is vague. And how about the response to high oil prices: "taking action on important supply- and demand-side measures". It's all about oil. No mention of alternative energy sources whatsoever.

The ASEAN-US Joint Vision Statement? Essentially, it's a pledge that the ASEAN countries will be nice to each other, trade fairly, and cooperate on a bunch of stuff. There is nothing specific that has been agreed upon. Instead, we get "Call on the ASEAN Foreign Ministers" to do X, and "Call on the ASEAN Economic Ministers" to do Y. This is mostly concerned with the Asian countries themselves. There is no solid bilateral agreement to be found here.

Whatever. The point is that the White House, and especially the State Department headed by Rice, couldn't come up with even a cosmetic agreement for Bush to sign. And so, when Bush returned from his trip, it was judged a flop.

Does this mean anything? It could mean that the current political mess Bush is in has paralyzed his administration. And that's not altogether a bad thing.


posted by Quiddity at 11/22/2005 09:30:00 AM