Backlash over bluster shows need to engage South Korea
Tue Jan 7, 7:33 AM ET Add Op/Ed - USA TODAY to My Yahoo!
When South Korea (news - web sites)'s president became one of President Bush (news - web sites)'s first White House visitors in March 2001, the excitement back home was palpable. South Koreans fully expected the new U.S. leader to embrace their ''sunshine policy,'' a series of inducements for bringing isolated North Korea (news - web sites) out of the shadow of totalitarianism and toward reunification with the south after a half century of estrangement. After all, the Clinton administration had backed that approach, and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (news - web sites) even visited North Korea in October 2000.
Instead, Bush left the long-time U.S. ally stunned and bitterly disappointed by declaring his own cold-shoulder policy, namely that he wanted no part in engaging the North Koreans. Ten months later, Bush sparked more outrage in South Korea when he lumped North Korea with Iraq and Iran as part of an ''axis of evil'' that could be the target of a pre-emptive U.S. military strike.
This week, as the administration holds a set of meetings with South Korean emissaries in Washington, Bush finds himself struggling to undo the damage caused by his earlier rough rhetoric and failure to back South Korea's determined and difficult effort to reconcile with its erratic neighbor. In an apparent attempt to force concessions from the U.S., impoverished North Korea has vowed to restart a nuclear reactor that could provide plutonium for nuclear weapons, breaking a 1994 agreement.
Bush's tough talk is not all that triggered the current crisis: North Korea admitted in October that it had been cheating on the agreement earlier. But the president's inflammatory language precipitated the North Korean regime's new push for nuclear weapons. At the same time, it drove a wedge between the U.S. and South Korea, a friend of more than 50 years.
All unnecessary.
The administration now seems to be recognizing belatedly the gravity of its strain with South Korea as it moves to heal the breach. On Monday, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer (news - web sites) pledged that the administration would work ''shoulder to shoulder'' with South Korea to solve the crisis with North Korea. Bush has also flatly ruled out a high-risk attack on North Korea. And he has replaced the blunt talk so offensive to many countries in favor of more nuanced diplomatic efforts that have long greased the wheels of international relationships.
Just as important, the administration has now allowed the South Koreans to take a lead in defusing the North Korean threat. During this week's discussions with U.S. officials, who will be joined by Japanese diplomats, South Korea is expected to suggest a compromise in which the U.S. would promise in writing not to attack North Korea if the country stops its nuclear weapons development program. That would reduce tensions while stopping short of making major concessions to North Korea in the face of nuclear blackmail.
At the least, less American bluster and more engagement could help stem a growing backlash in South Korea against the U.S., which maintains 37,000 troops in that Asian country. Anti-American demonstrations are now common, particularly after two South Korean girls were accidentally crushed by a U.S. military vehicle last June. A Gallup Poll in December showed that more South Koreans have a negative view of the U.S. than of North Korea: 53% vs. 37%. And incoming President Roh Moo Hyun, who takes office next month, was elected in December on promises to take a stand against what many South Koreans view as bullying U.S. efforts to dictate North Korean policy.
That's why close cooperation between Washington and Seoul is so important. Though any plan to persuade North Korea to abandon its effort to build nuclear weapons requires a range of tactics, carefully crafted diplomatic overtures are crucial to keeping allies united. South Korean diplomats are pursuing that goal through meetings with three key neighbors of North Korea -- China, Russia and Japan. U.S. officials travel to Seoul this week, and Roh will meet with Bush in coming months.
The important point is to placate both South and North Korea enough to find effective ways to prevent the communist regime from exporting dangerous weapons to terrorists and perfecting nuclear missiles that could one day hit U.S. shores.
When Bush was campaigning in 2000, he said of other countries, ''If we're an arrogant nation, they'll resent us. If we're a humble nation but strong, they'll welcome us.'' That's worth remembering as the administration first listens closely to South Korea's concerns this week and then decides how best to win back its vital ally's trust.
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Will the real Bush please raise his hand?
Al |
