Clement Tan
Recently by Clement Tan
Oct 7 2009, 1:06PM
Pay Attention To Burma
The United States' recent decision to pursue a different tack with Burma has been cited by reports to be the reason for the unusual Chinese rebuke of the Burmese over a recent border spat. According to a recent Inter Press Agency article, the recent Chinese-Burmese border bust up may have been compounded by Chinese concerns over its long-time client state's future relations with the U.S.
Some background: This latest Chinese rebuke comes as the United States has moved rather aggressively in courting Burma in the last few weeks. Following Senator Jim Webb's trip to Burma in August, the U.S has announced a shift in its Burma policy, announcing its plan for engagement with the junta's reclusive leaders must be part of a "sustained process of interaction." This move, which has been strongly supported by Burmese opposition, has been quickly followed by a meeting between Kurt Campbell, assistant U.S. secretary of state for Asia, and Burmese health minister U Thaung on the margins of the UN General Assembly last Tuesday. These are the first such high-level talks in more than a decade.
Some background: This latest Chinese rebuke comes as the United States has moved rather aggressively in courting Burma in the last few weeks. Following Senator Jim Webb's trip to Burma in August, the U.S has announced a shift in its Burma policy, announcing its plan for engagement with the junta's reclusive leaders must be part of a "sustained process of interaction." This move, which has been strongly supported by Burmese opposition, has been quickly followed by a meeting between Kurt Campbell, assistant U.S. secretary of state for Asia, and Burmese health minister U Thaung on the margins of the UN General Assembly last Tuesday. These are the first such high-level talks in more than a decade.
Sep 30 2009, 7:45PM
On Climate Change, Resignation, Already?
So after much chatter, we are only finally seeing the start of the
long climate-change bill fight. Senate Democrats introduced a draft of
a climate bill Wednesday that suggests the legislation will include a
more ambitious greenhouse gas emissions target than one passed by the
House. The New York Times reports:
The measure, sponsored by Senators Barbara Boxer of California and John Kerry of Massachusetts, seeks to achieve by 2020 a 20 percent reduction from 2005 levels of carbon dioxide emissions, compared with 17 percent in the House bill, according to the 801-page draft, which circulated on Tuesday. The House and Senate bills both include a long-term target of an 83 percent reduction by 2050.
Sep 10 2009, 4:08PM
Poverty Survey May Help Obama's Case
The latest poverty figures released by the Census Bureau today might just serve to buttress some of the main points in President Obama's congressional address last night. According to a Reuters report, the bureau reported the U.S. poverty rate rose to its highest level in 11 years in 2008, to 13.2 per cent from 12.5 per cent in 2007.
The bureau also said this is the first statistically significant increase in annual poverty rate since 2004 and translates into a increase of 2.5 million people in real numbers, from 37.3 million to 39.8 million. Real median household income also fell 3.6 percent to $50,303 in 2008, breaking a string of three years of annual income increases and coinciding with the recession that started in December 2007. According to The New York Times, when adjusted for inflation, median family incomes were lower in 2008 than they had been a decade previously.
The bureau also said this is the first statistically significant increase in annual poverty rate since 2004 and translates into a increase of 2.5 million people in real numbers, from 37.3 million to 39.8 million. Real median household income also fell 3.6 percent to $50,303 in 2008, breaking a string of three years of annual income increases and coinciding with the recession that started in December 2007. According to The New York Times, when adjusted for inflation, median family incomes were lower in 2008 than they had been a decade previously.
Aug 27 2009, 10:10AM
Washingtonians Remember Kennedy At Vigil Wednesday Night
Whatever wrong the late Sen. Ted Kennedy had done earlier in his life, George Mason University professors Hugh Gusterson and Allison Macfarlane are satisfied the youngest of the Kennedy brothers subsequently redeemed himself in the Senate. "He might have been flawed, but he was also passionate and righteous," Gusterson said.
Aug 19 2009, 9:55AM
Engagement: The More The Merrier
It is difficult to resist drawing comparisons when two apparently non-official "rescue" missions were made in the last fortnight alone by prominent U.S. political personalities. That they were to two of the world's most closed countries -- North Korea and Burma -- has invited a flurry of perspectives on how the Obama adminstration should conduct themselves in its foreign policy.
Foreign Policy's David Roftkopf advocates caution. He says:
Foreign Policy's David Roftkopf advocates caution. He says:
Webb says he was not an official emissary of the administration. Bill Clinton said the same thing. Clearly, in both instances this particular bit of diplomatic kabuki theater is transparent to all. Webb is the regional subcommittee chair on a critical Senate subcommittee, he is close to the administration, was briefed by them before his trip and promises to brief them on his return. At no time did they renounce the trip and he traveled on a U.S. government plane. His visit was official and the credit for the release of Yettaw and the potential negative consequences of the mission must accrue to the president and his team.
Personally, I think making engagement a centerpiece of a new U.S. foreign policy is a major positive development for which the administration deserves great credit. But as with any such new initiative, we need to be careful about how we approach it prior to getting all the bugs worked out. The Webb mission, even with is success in terms of securing the release of Mr. Yettaw, winning a session with Suu Kyi and engaging in a rare exchange with the leader of the regime, raises important concerns that need to be addressed if the new policy is to work to our best advantage in the future.
Aug 3 2009, 4:30PM
Journalism's Problem Isn't Gawker. It's Advertising.
Washington Post's Ian Shapira fired the latest salvo in the ongoing debate about paid media content with his thoughtful "rant" over the weekend about Gawker "stealing" his story. But he raised the bar by invoking legal considerations, wondering aloud if Gawker's (mis)use of his work amounted to copyright infringement.
Jul 31 2009, 2:30PM
Why The Latest Nigerian Unrest Should Matter More
If the Obama administration is really interested in conducting America's foreign relations differently, it should take a deep seated interest in the situation in Nigeria right now.
The New York Times reported Nigerian security forces on Thursday confirmed the death of the leader of a fundamentalist Islamic sect in the city of Maiduguri, apparently ending a fierce five-day campaign against the group that may have left hundreds dead across northern Nigeria.
The militant group led by Mohammed Yusuf, known as Boko Haram or Taliban, wants to overthrow the Nigerian government and impose a strict version of Islamic law. It has been blamed for days of violent unrest in which hundreds of people died in clashes between his followers and security forces.
The New York Times reported Nigerian security forces on Thursday confirmed the death of the leader of a fundamentalist Islamic sect in the city of Maiduguri, apparently ending a fierce five-day campaign against the group that may have left hundreds dead across northern Nigeria.
The militant group led by Mohammed Yusuf, known as Boko Haram or Taliban, wants to overthrow the Nigerian government and impose a strict version of Islamic law. It has been blamed for days of violent unrest in which hundreds of people died in clashes between his followers and security forces.
Jul 16 2009, 5:48PM
Secretary Of State, Not Superwoman
Reading The New York Times' David Landler's commentary on Hillary Clinton's first major address as Secretary of State at the Council of Foreign Relations yesterday, one gets the impression that Clinton is Superwoman, repressed by her boss and nemesis in the White House.
Landler calls her speech "an effort to recapture the limelight after a period in which Mrs. Clinton has nursed both a broken elbow and the perception that the State Department has lost influence to an assertive White House." He also situates her speech against the backdrop of the antecedent rivalry between Clinton and Obama from their bruising presidential primary campaigns last year.
Landler calls her speech "an effort to recapture the limelight after a period in which Mrs. Clinton has nursed both a broken elbow and the perception that the State Department has lost influence to an assertive White House." He also situates her speech against the backdrop of the antecedent rivalry between Clinton and Obama from their bruising presidential primary campaigns last year.
Copyright © 2009 by The Atlantic Monthly Group. All rights reserved.