From: wag5@quads.uchicago.edu (john peter wagner)
Subject: Re: GB's Foreign Policy Record? Gimme a Break!
Reply-To: wag5@midway.uchicago.edu
Organization: University of Chicago Computing Organizations
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1992 03:38:11 GMT

In article <1992Aug28.004126.17849@news.Hawaii.Edu> gerard@caliban.soest.hawaii.edu (Gerard Fryer) writes:
>In article <1992Aug26.194933.10398@odin.corp.sgi.com>, zursch@whizkid.wpd.sgi.com (JZ) writes:
>
[Stuff in support of Bush's gulf and Isreali foreign policy here]
>Indeed, that IS the best George can do with foreign policy. Consider
>his foreign policy failures:
>
>1.  He was ambassador to China for three years but learned not one word
>of Mandarin.  Worse, he learned nothing about Chinese attitudes:
>witness his incomprehensible response to Tienanman Square (I do agree,
>however, with his more recent most-favored-nation-status decision, but
>I want to concentrate on his failures here).
>

1)Is it the responsibility of an ambassador to be a linguist  or
to represent the government from which he comes?  His 'incomprehensible'
response to Tianenmen seems to have some support from political scientists.
                                             
>2.  As director of the CIA he presented the now infamous Plan B
>assessment of Soviet military might to President Carter. That resulted
>in the unnecessary and costly build-up of U.S. military strength, taken
>to absurd extremes by Reagan.  As Vice-President, when the superiority
>of the Plan A over the Plan B assessment became glaringly obvious, he
>did nothing - zip - to correct U.S. policy.  Now he credits the
>build-up for the collapse of the Soviet Union.  If he believes that
>he's a fool; if he doesn't, he's a liar.
>
	2)Well, I think I ran across some earlier posts in which people
think that increased military spending in the USSR hastened their
economic self-destruction.  A 'fool?' How can one person call another
a 'fool?'                   

>3.  When the vodka putsch began GB was deplorably slow to condemn the
>generals aligned against Gorbachev.  When the Soviet Union fell apart,
>he waited until most of western Europe had recognized Russia before he
>followed suit.  U.S. policy towards the former Soviet states is still
>confused and aimless.

	3)So he didn't condemn them. So what. It wasn't the rest of Europe
that overthrew the generals.  It seems the people of Russia et al.
seem to have taken care of things well enough for themselves.  It displays
extreme foresight and coolness that Bush did what he did.

>
>4.  As Yugoslavia began to fester he dithered about instead of using
>the U.S.'s considerable influence to lean on the Europeans to take
>action.  There was a brief time when something as mild as a strict
>embargo (to be enforced with Hungary's help) would have done much to
>protect Bosnia-Herzegovina, but for whatever reason (they don't want an
>Islamic state in their midst?) Europe dragged it's feet.  At the very
>least the situation called for a stern accusatory speech from Bush, but
>he offered nothing.  Now the world faces the distinct possibility of a
>Bosnian state in exile - a Balkan Palestine, and there is a good
>possibility that any international action will expand to involve U.S.
>troops.

	4)However-What is going on in "Yugoslavia" is a very old business
predating World Wars 1 and 2.  It is also a civil war.  If we step in and
beat up Serbia, then we are being hypocritical.  Should some nation have
beaten back the Republican North during our own civil war for invading
the secessionary South?                             

>
>Even compared to his two foreign policy successes (the bottling up of
>Saddam Hussein, coercing Israel to back off on west-bank settlements),
>it is hard to reconcile the above sorry record with the image of a
>statesman. I am amazed that the Democrats don't do more to show how
>naive and weak Bush is in foreign policy.
>
	It is hard to say what would have been the best action
after the fact.  We all say 'He should have done this,' or
'he should have done that,' but when the chips are down and the cameras
are rolling we find ourselves a little short for words.

>-- 
>Gerard Fryer  (g.fryer@soest.hawaii.edu)
>School of Ocean & Earth Science & Technology
>University of Hawaii at Manoa

					J. Wagner

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