| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front: Politix |
| Circle of Friends |
| 2006-06-29 |
| Bush’s farewell summit with the Japanese prime minister will include beef, barbecue and Graceland. What their trip tells us about the U.S. president’s style of diplomacy. It is by far the most bizarre session with any foreign leader during the presidency of George W. Bush. For a commander in chief who dislikes foreign travel and rarely hosts state dinners, this week’s trip to Graceland with the Japanese prime minister is an extraordinary event. In theory, the Elvis pilgrimage is something of a parting gift for Junichiro Koizumi, who steps down in the fall. Koizumi is such a big Presley fan that he selected his own favorite tracks for a Japanese CD. For his part, President Bush cares so little about music that he entrusts his iPod selections to his old friend, music junkie Mark McKinnon. But even more important than the journey to Memphis is what the trip says about Bush’s exceptionally personal form of diplomacy. Bush’s foreign policy aides insist that the idea for a Graceland visit came from the president himself, not from Koizumi. “About a year ago, the president started saying to us as staff, ‘I would like to take him to Graceland,’ and we all thought he might be joking,” said one senior administration official, who insisted on anonymity in talking about Bush’s foreign-policy discussions. “But as he repeated it several times to us, we realized he indeed thought it was a great thing to do.” The result is an Elvis-themed day on Friday, complete with Elvis movies on Air Force One and a strategic opportunity for Koizumi to go karaoke. “I imagine that Koizumi may pick up a mike somewhere along the way,” the senior Bush aide said. “He does sing Elvis songs.” Of course the White House would like you to know that it’s not all play. There will be extensive talks about North Korea, Iran and Iraq. And even the fun stuff can have a greater meaning: in Memphis, the two leaders will eat some of the city’s finest barbecue. Given the Japanese ban on U.S. beef because of concerns about mad-cow disease, the mere sight of Koizumi eating American meat is a symbolic stamp of approval. As trivial as it sounds, there are certain strengths to this kind of one-on-one diplomacy. There’s little doubt among Japan analysts that the close relationship between Bush and Koizumi has been critical in improving relations between the United States and Japan. After the economic rivalries of the 1980s and the Japanese stagnation of the 1990s, the Koizumi-Bush era looks like a golden one. It didn’t always look like their relationship would be a surefire success. In June 2001, as Koizumi prepared to meet Bush for the first time, the Kyoto global-warming treaty seemed to be a big stumbling block between the two new leaders. Koizumi promised to try to change Bush’s mind on Kyoto as the American prepared to leave Tokyo. Instead, it was the Japanese leader who changed his mind: he left Camp David saying that he would not proceed with Kyoto without American cooperation. As if to underscore their friendship, the two leaders played catch in front of the cameras, throwing a baseball that Bush had just given to Koizumi. After 9/11, the payoff was clear. Japan passed new laws to allow it to support American antiterrorist operations in Afghanistan—a turning point in Japan’s postwar history, given that its Constitution renounces war and the use of force. Today it has a small presence in Iraq and is a firm supporter of Bush’s approach to Iran. Koizumi’s special relationship with President Bush stands alongside a handful of others: Britain’s Tony Blair, Australia’s John Howard and Denmark’s Anders Fogh Rasmussen. The president sees all four as leaders in his own self-image—as bold, historic figures who are reshaping their own countries and the world, and as no-nonsense leaders who can be trusted to follow through on their commitments. As a result, Bush has gone out of his way to lavish attention and special treatment on all of them: trips to Camp David, official dinners, marching bands, special gifts. Of course, President Bush can decide whom he wants to treat as his best friends among the world’s leaders. But what is surprising is how small and steady that circle of friends has been. Some, like Russian President Vladimir Putin, have fallen out of favor. Only one, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, seems to have joined the shortlist. Bush will travel to her hometown in former East Germany next month, en route to the G8 summit hosted by his ex-friend Putin. There are other limits to this kind of diplomacy: a surprising reluctance to delve into sensitive problems. Given the nature of their friendship, it’s remarkable to note that Bush and Koizumi don’t talk much about Japan’s precarious diplomatic position in its own region. Even as Koizumi has grown closer to Bush, Japan’s relations with China and South Korea have deteriorated. At the heart of those tensions are Japan’s limited steps to acknowledge its wartime atrocities, as well as Koizumi’s visits to the Yasakuni shrine that honors the military, including war criminals. To this day, the White House prefers to leave such delicate issues to the Japanese and suggests that China has been stoking nationalist feelings against Japan for purely political reasons. The way Bush tells it, his close relationship with Koizumi is the product of a postwar transformation. Speaking at a GOP fund-raiser in Albuquerque, N.M., earlier this month, Bush set the stage for his Graceland trip. “Think about the American president traveling to Graceland with the prime minister of Japan,” he said to fits of laughter. “Let me ask you something: 60 years ago, would you have thought that would be possible? Think about it. See, my dad, and I bet your relatives, too—some of you had relatives who fought the Japanese. They were the sworn enemy of the United States of America in a bloody, bloody conflict … What happened? What happened was Japan adopted a Japanese-style democracy.” Democracy was clearly important to Japan’s postwar relationship with the United States, but so was a shared vision of security in Asia. And so was the close bond established by individual leaders like Bush and Koizumi. For that, they deserve a large degree of personal credit. Other democracies have drifted away from their alliance with the United States during the Bush years. Given the enduring worldwide controversy over Iraq, a trip to Graceland seems like a relatively small thank you to the Japanese leader. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #3 Frank G., there are some things just too sensitive to make fun of. :>0 |
| Posted by: psychohillbilly 2006-06-29 13:46 |
| #2 Well I'm going to BBQ some Pork ribs this weekend |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-06-29 13:21 |
| #1 "And even the fun stuff can have a greater meaning: in Memphis, the two leaders will eat some of the cityÂ’s finest barbecue. = Rendezvous. And remember for all you non-Southerners, barbecue is always a noun and never a verb. Given the Japanese ban on U.S. beef because of concerns about mad-cow disease, the mere sight of Koizumi eating American meat is a symbolic stamp of approval." Also remember that barbecue, used in the generic form, is always PORK, not beef. Only explicitly using the phrase 'Beef BBQ' or 'Beef Ribs' means bovine mammal flesh. |
| Posted by: psychohillbilly 2006-06-29 13:17 |