The JO has been following The Hon. Kurt Campbell, US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia & the Pacific. Yesterday the JO was lucky enough to sit and listen to Dr. Campbell talk ( off the record at CSIS ) about the outlook for US policy in the ASEAN for 2010. The JO has been able to ask Dr. Campbell a few questions about Burma. What about the upcoming election ? What about China's influence on Myanmar ? What should ASEAN do ? What about imprisoned US citizen Mr.Kyaw Zaw Lin ? Dr. Campbell answered all these questions thoughtfully ( and off the record ).In our latest encounter, he said ( I don't want to talk about Burma ). Then added ( the situation is very delicate ).( We know more about North Korea than we do about Myanmar ). ( We expect Japan to do more on the issue of human rights in Burma than trade )... I guess Dr. Campbell momentarily forgot about all the fingernails the Japanese pulled out in Burma during WWII... aaaah, nothing heals pulled out fingernails like foreign investment.... the JO thinks Japan is on theright track. ASEAN knows Myanmar well ( more than North Korea ) because of trade. If the US wants to learn more about Myanmar than open up trade. The human rights will take care of itself... dont make it such a huge issue that engagement and diplomacy become a non-starter. It's a real learning experience listening to Dr. Campbell. Dr. Campbell speaks like a scholar and thinks like a soldier.
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