Bush Survives Seoul
US President George W. Bush's visit to Seoul these past two days is either a draw for conservative and progressive factions, or a nasty wake-up call for the future of ROK-US relations.
Both the Christian Science Monitor and the Online Newshour highlight the breadth of democratic opinion displayed in Seoul. On the other hand, it's not all about South Koreans' opinions.
In South Korea, Bush can expect protests during his visit, though Green says it would be simplistic to view those as anti-American. Bush had to postpone a visit scheduled for earlier this year because of massive protests against the Korean government's decision to allow import of US beef. But Green says the demonstrations are directed more at the reforms brought in by President Lee Myung Bak.
Noting South Korea's phenomenal transition after the Korean War to political stability and a high-tech economy, Green says that even protests for Bush's visit «are a good-news story because it shows the vibrancy of Korean democracy.»
Still, Bush will confront lingering South Korean resistance to US beef. Relations were irritated further when a US government geographic agency recently redesignated the small Dokdo islands claimed by both Japan and South Korea from «Korean» to «disputed.»
Bush has since rescinded the change, but not before seeing resentment rekindled in Seoul.
Such squalls might be more easily dismissed if the US were on stronger footing to assert its leadership, says Michigan's Mr. Lieberthal. «We are less well-positioned to go forward in Asia than we should be,» he says, pointing not just to America's perceived diplomatic weakness but to domestic conditions on the economy, infrastructure, healthcare that will require a domestic focus at a time of Asia's advance.
How much worse could it be after eight years?
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