Obama's Asia Trip: The Deference Debate

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Let it be known without apology: Barack Obama is not above the bow. He dipped his head all through Asia — greeting Japan's Emperor with a deep bend at the waist, nodding to Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping on a Beijing tarmac, even bobbing forward in gratitude before his tour guide at the Courtyard of Loyal Obedience in the Forbidden City.

Back in the U.S., the President's many political foes leaped on the gesture as a symbol of submission. "It's not appropriate," chided conservative pundit William Kristol on Fox News. "A spineless blunder," blared the online firebrand Michelle Malkin. But neither the President nor his aides paid much mind. "He doesn't spend a lot of time reading right-wing blogs," explained Robert Gibbs, White House press secretary. (See pictures of Obama's trip to Asia.)

Obama believes that what others dismiss as a weakness is actually a strength. As he traveled across four Asian nations in seven days, the President delivered much the same message he has already delivered to 16 other countries in Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East: the U.S. is no longer interested in simply imposing solutions on other nations. It wants to usher in a "new era of engagement with the world based on mutual interests and mutual respect," as Obama said in Tokyo.

In practice, this means more than just courteous gestures. At almost every stage, Obama has tried to avoid blunt confrontation in favor of something more cooperative. He stopped short of offering an unabashed defense of human rights the way Hillary Clinton did on her 1995 visit to China or a hard-line demand for democracy the way former Vice President Dick Cheney did in Lithuania in 2006. Instead, he has sought at every meeting to focus on common ground, hoping for what he once described as a clearing away of "old preconceptions or ideological dogmas" so that nations will be more likely "to cooperate than not cooperate."

This strategy is a conscious rejection of the Bush Administration's approach, which was never big on deference. The challenge for the President is that with almost a year in office, he has little to show for his global charm campaign beyond a Nobel Prize, soaring international poll approval and the promise of many more diplomatic dialogues to come. As Obama's foreign policy ambitions move beyond the introductory phase, harder questions are coming to the fore: When does politeness lapse into passivity? When does seeking common ground erode the soil that anchors American priorities?

It is, after all, one thing to show deep respect to the crowned head of one of the U.S.'s closest Asian allies but quite another to pose for photographs with the leader of one of the world's most oppressive dictatorships — as Obama did in Singapore at a group meeting that included Thein Sein, the Prime Minister of Burma. Throughout his trip, in fact, Obama was so focused on trumpeting shared interests that he often glossed over the more central disagreements. At a meeting with college students in Shanghai, for example, Obama qualified his objections to Chinese Internet censorship, saying, "I recognize that different countries have different traditions." In Tokyo, Obama endorsed more talks about U.S. bases on the island of Okinawa, even though Japan had already signed an agreement to let the unpopular garrisons stay.

In terms of definitive progress, the Obama Administration will end the year having made little more headway than its predecessor: there will be no international climate pact this year, and the deadline for a nuclear-arms deal with Russia will slip into 2010. China offered no concessions on key issues like trade imbalances and human rights. (In fact, its authoritarian government prepped for Obama's arrival by detaining still more dissidents.) Elsewhere in the world, North Korea remains defiant, and Israel — spurning Obama's requests — has announced further settlement expansion. (See pictures of life in the settlements.)

In Seoul on Thursday, Obama hinted at the need for harsher international action against Iran, which has so far rejected a proposal to ship its uranium outside the country to ensure that it is reprocessed for non-military uses. "They are unable to get to yes," Obama said about Iran. "We have begun a dialog with our international partners about the importance of having consequences."

On North Korea, Obama announced that on Dec. 8 a U.S. diplomat will travel to North Korea to continue negotiations, but Obama said those discussions should focus on the nuclear issues and not "side items." He said he wanted to "break the pattern" of North Korea coming to the negotiating table followed by outward defiance of its own agreements. "The door is open to resolving these issues peacefully," Obama said.

Sensitive to charges that the U.S. is soft-pedaling its own interests, the President's aides say there was also tough talk behind the scenes. In the meeting with the Burmese, for instance, the President spoke out on behalf of Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader who lives under house arrest. In China, Obama called for the communist government to meet with the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader. And Obama appeared to be gaining support from Russia for tougher measures against Iran. "Other options remain on the table," Dmitri Medvedev, the Russian President said, stopping short of defining those steps.

Obama's advisers are, for the moment, focused less on final resolutions and more on the long-term potential for renewed dialogue. "These are things that will pay off over time," said David Axelrod, one of the President's top aides who traveled to Asia. In other words, this trip was merely Obama's opening bow. Now the real show must begin.

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