CHINA, TURKEY ANGRY AT US MOVES
By Jennifer Loven
The Associated Press
Oct 17 2007
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Democratic Congress, a thorn in President
Bush’s side from the get-go on Iraq, now is contributing to diplomatic
headaches for the White House in other parts of the world.
A Capitol Hill ceremony on Wednesday was to confer the prestigious
Congressional Gold Medal on the Dalai Lama. The reaction from China,
which reviles the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet’s Buddhists as a
separatist, was swift and angry.
Beijing pulled out of an international strategy session on Iran – a
subtle reminder to the Bush administration that China’s vote will be
the key to winning the new United Nations sanctions on Tehran sought
by the United States.
Turkey, meanwhile, is considering retaliation for a House resolution
labeling as genocide the World War I-era killing of up to 1.5 million
Armenians in the final years of the Ottoman Empire. Turkey denies
the deaths were a systematic campaign to eliminate Armenians and
considers a committee’s passage of the resolution last week an affront.
Both actions amount to a sharp poke in the eye to countries whose
cooperation is sorely needed by the United States on big issues
including the Iraq war and the fights to contain Iran and North Korea’s
nuclear ambitions. They lessen Bush’s ability to wheel and deal abroad,
where leaders and the people make little or no distinction between
U.S. policy that originates in Congress or at the White House.
And these are only the latest examples of Congress, in Democratic
hands since January, doing what it pleases on foreign policy with
little ability for the White House to change the outcome.
In April, for instance, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a high-profile
visit to Syria, a diplomatic overture that was at odds with White
House policy and sharply criticized by Bush.
The House also this summer passed a resolution that urged Japan to
more clearly and formally apologize for forcing thousands of Asian
women into sex slavery during World War II, increasing tensions with
Tokyo and contributing to a rise in anti-American sentiment in Japan.
And lawmakers are blocking approval of a pending free-trade deal
with South Korea because of barriers erected by Seoul to keep out
U.S. autos and beef.
"It entirely weakens the administration’s leverage in these countries,"
said Mike Green, who worked on Bush’s National Security Council and
is now with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a
Washington think tank. "It looks like a gratuitous political attack
on an ally."
The accolades for the Dalai Lama in Washington this week have provoked
an unusually blunt response from Beijing, which particularly resents
Bush’s role. To be sure, Congress had a Republican majority last year
when it approved adding the Dalai Lama to the list of those given its
highest civilian honor. Yet, it wasn’t until Democrats took over that
the decision was made to stage a public presentation ceremony.
But unlike the vote that angered Turkey, Bush supports the move
to honor the Tibetan leader and will deliver brief remarks at the
festivities in the Capitol Rotunda.
He had little choice; he’s only missed other Congressional Gold Medal
ceremonies because of travel. Skipping one for the Dalai Lama could
have produced worse consequences than following precedent.
But Bush also chose to host the spiritual leader for a private
meeting on Tuesday in the White House residence – again following
precedent, but one that mightily displeased China. In one small nod
to Beijing’s concerns, the White House decided against following the
previous practice of publicly releasing a photo of Bush and the Dalai
Lama together.
Bush argued during a Wednesday news conference that "I don’t think
it’s going to damage – severely damage" the Washington-Beijing
relationship. The issue of religious freedom in China, and particularly
Tibet, has long been on the U.S.-China agenda, and Bush informed
Chinese President Hu Jintao in September that he would participate
in Wednesday’s ceremony, at the same time that he promised to attend
the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
Turkey, meanwhile, is a full-on ally, a NATO member and a key Muslim
partner for Washington even more critical now because of the many
supply lines to troops in Iraq that go through and over the country.
The United States also is working to keep Turkey from launching an
offensive against Kurdish rebels across the border in northern Iraq,
fearing it would destabilize one of Iraq’s most stable areas.
Turkey’s Parliament on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved such a
military action.
"Congress has more important work to do than antagonizing a democratic
ally in the Muslim world, especially one that’s providing vital
support for our military every day," Bush told reporters Wednesday.
EDITOR’S NOTE _ Jennifer Loven covers the White House for The
Associated Press.