DATE=3/29/2000
TYPE=U-S OPINION ROUNDUP
TITLE=PRESIDENT CLINTON'S INDIA-PAKISTAN TRIP
NUMBER=6-11751
BYLINE=ERIKA EVANS
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
EDITOR=ASSIGNMENTS
TELEPHONE=619-2702
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: President Clinton's recent trip to India and
Pakistan continues to provoke a great deal of
commentary in U-S press. Some editorial writers are
attempting to defend the president's peace mission
while others are calling the trip a big disappointment
and an indication of the president's weakening powers
to persuade. We get a sampling now from
______________ in today's U-S Opinion Roundup.
TEXT: There were high hopes for President Clinton's
trip to India and Pakistan. The two countries,
seemingly always on the verge of war and both armed
with nuclear weapons, are high on the president's
peace agenda in his final year in office.
It was the first visit to India by an American
president in 22 years. However, the short-term
accomplishments of the president's trip appear to be
few. Neither country agreed to abandon its nuclear
deterrent, and Pakistani military leaders failed to
guarantee any quick return to democracy following last
year's military coup. The Post and Courier in
Charleston, South Carolina is critical of the
president's trip and his motives.
VOICE: President Clinton's resounding failure to make
a breakthrough in the Middle East peace process
by meeting with Syrian President Hafez al-Assad
raises questions about his motives. Are his
increasingly frequent foreign forays a search
for peace, or a lame duck president's desperate
bid to build a legacy of achievement in world
affairs? ...So far, Bill Clinton's foreign
policy legacy is a string of failures... it's
painfully clear that the role of an
international statesman does not fit Bill
Clinton.
TEXT: That was the view of The Post and Courier.
From Long Island, New York, Newsday also sees
shortcomings of President Clinton as a global
peacemaker.
VOICE: In both Mideast and in the Indian
subcontinent, Clinton's peace forays may well be
his last ones. His power to persuade will
continue to wane as the end of his term nears.
...It may have been good for (Mr.) Clinton to
make the effort with (Syrian leader Hafez) al-
Assad, if only to show the continuing U-S
interest in obtaining a Mideast peace.
Unfortunately, he also demonstrated how little
effect his personal intervention has at this
stage in his presidency.
TEXT: So says Newsday. The Boston Globe, in
Massachusetts, has a different assessment. It views
President Clinton's visit as a historic long-range
shift in U-S national interest.
VOICE: The president failed to get either the Indians
or the Pakistanis to give up their atomic
weapons or to ameliorate their quarrel over
Kashmir. Nevertheless, the proportionality of
the five days in India and the five hours in
Pakistan signified the shift in American
priorities toward India. ...Both the Indians
and the Pakistanis understood the message behind
Clinton's visit, even though he did not
articulate it directly, proving the old adage
that nations don't have friends, only interests.
TEXT: The Los Angeles Times in California agrees with
that evaluation.
VOICE: [Mr.] Clinton's trip should be an impetus for
improving relations between the U-S and India,
two countries suspicious of each other for far
too long. The Cold War between the superpowers
of the Northern Hemisphere has long since
disappeared, and it's time for New Delhi and
Washington to think anew about old alliances.
...Washington should take advantage of the
changes in politics and economic orientation in
India.... [Mr.] Clinton spent four days in
India, and not much longer than four hours in
Pakistan. That was appropriate.
TEXT: The Akron Beacon Journal in Ohio gives a
positive view of the president's peace mission to
South Asia, and commends his efforts to open lines of
communication.
VOICE: The path to peace is a long one. Terms such
as success and failure need to be considered
within the context of the long-lasting and
increasingly dangerous hostility between India
and Pakistan.... Against that backdrop, is it
realistic to think (Mr.) Clinton, in a week,
could magically find peace? The challenge makes
the effort matter. The president opened lines
of communication that could prove vital if
things between India and Pakistan worsen.
TEXT: And finally, Tulsa World in Oklahoma insists
the trip was not a complete loss.
VOICE: (Mr.) Clinton must be disappointed that his
legendary powers of persuasion were of little
use in either country. But after the dust has
settled, we might find that this visit was of
much more value than first thought. It
certainly was worth a try. Any gesture that can
cool passions in one of the world's most
dangerous regions is welcome.
TEXT: On that note, we conclude this sampling of U-S
press reaction to President Clinton's visit to India
and Pakistan.
NEB/ENE/gm
29-Mar-2000 15:55 PM EDT (29-Mar-2000 2055 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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