But his hatred of Israel aside, what does Brzezinski think Obama should say to China's president concerning an increasingly belligerent North Korea, which threatens the entire Far East? Brzezinski answers in two sentences:
"China’s seeming lack of concern over North Korea’s violent skirmishes with South Korea has given rise to apprehension about China’s policy on the Korean peninsula. And just as America’s unilateralism has in recent years needlessly antagonized some of its friends, so China should note that some of its recent stands have worried its neighbors."
Or in other words, in keeping with prevailing Obama administration thought, China is no better and no worse than the U.S. This conciliatory attitude is further highlighted by Brzezinski's observation:
"Longstanding differences between the American and the Chinese notions of human rights were accentuated by the awarding of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize to a Chinese dissident."
Mere "longstanding differences"? Is Brzezinski seriously contending that differences between American and Chinese "notions" of human rights are merely cultural in origin? Tell it to Tibet. And afterwards consider how China executes more people annually than any other country in the world, although Iran admittedly has a higher per capita execution rate.
Brzezinski's conclusion:
"For the visit to be more than symbolic, Presidents Obama and Hu should make a serious effort to codify in a joint declaration the historic potential of productive American-Chinese cooperation.
. . . .
Such a joint charter should, in effect, provide the framework not only for avoiding what under some circumstances could become a hostile rivalry but also for expanding a realistic collaboration between the United States and China. This would do justice to a vital relationship between two great nations of strikingly different histories, identities and cultures — yet both endowed with a historically important global role."
Yeah, right. A joint charter will rein in North Korea. Which has me wondering whether I should reread Hegel in search of a multi-syllable Teutonism denoting the philosophical significance of bubbles in a bathtub.
Pretty abrasive stuff. But that's what I love about this blog.
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of "realistic collaboration" can there be between the debtor and the debtee? The natural posture is that of adversaries. The natural inclination is to be prone to mischief. Politics puts on this benevolent mask, calls it the face of equity. But underneath, there can only be distrust and resentment.