US foreign policy: Hardball's the word

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March 27, 2001

US foreign policy: Hardball's the word

In 1988/89, George W Bush parlayed his family's good relations with baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth into an investment deal to buy the Arlington, Texas-based Texas Rangers major league baseball team, and served as the team's managing general partner. Ten years later, the team was sold at a hefty profit. George W made millions. But co-owning a baseball team was only second best. "When I was growing up, I wanted to beWillie Mays," he confided on his official presidential campaign website.

Now, as US president, he hasn't wasted any time playing hardball in the international arena. Shortly after taking office, he teamed up with Britain's Tony Blair to bomb Iraq.

Earlier this month he told visiting South Korean President Kim Dae-jung in so many words that Kim was too soft on North Korea and that there was no need to rush into new negotiations with Pyongyang.

Last week, he got into a tiff with Russian President Vladimir Putin and expelled some 50 "Russian spies" (Russian embassy envoys) from Washington.

And more or less concurrently, he told Chinese Vice Premier Qian Qichen that, "Nothing we do is a threat to you" - something one needn't bother to say unless there is every good chance that one's deeds rather clearly lend themselves to the opposite interpretation. So, what's it all about, George and team?

Some of the obvious and some of the less obvious, we surmise. The world must be given to understand that there is a Bush difference, that Bush is tough where Clinton was squishy, that Bush won't be pushed around or dragged into things by his nose. Fair enough. The new kid on the block must prove his mettle - and the determination not to be dragged into untested waters is an attitude we appreciate. Playing tough at the same time gives you some room for maneuvering behind the scenes and time for review.

And Clinton actually had a good deal more maneuvering room. The US economy was growing great guns for most of his presidency. That the US was a superpower to be reckoned with on all fronts went without saying. Who could argue that the "Washington consensus" on global economic policy was the only way to go and that from unquestioned economic strength flowed prerogatives in the foreign and security policy fields?

With the Dow below 10,000, the Nasdaq below 2,000, the US economy at zero growth and Alan Greenspan no longer the unquestioned monetary magician, President George W has a bit of a harder sell in other fields as well. So, why not show off your military muscle and diplomatic toughness a bit to make up for the difference?

But we suggest the world refrain from getting spooked and drawing too many early conclusions. The Bush team attitude is not to play tough in an interventionist mode, but to play tough to avoid unnecessary entanglements. In the meantime Bush - quite rightly - is concentrating on getting his tax cut proposal passed in the Congress so as to get the US economy back on track. He and his advisers know that little else will fly without that. Playing hardball buys some time and wards off distractions. Others - Japan, South Korea, Russia, China - might do well to give some serious thought to fixing their economies as well in the interim.

((c)2001 Asia Times Online Co, Ltd. All rights

http://atimes.com/editor/CC27Ba01.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), March 26, 2001


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