Cheney to Visit Japan, China and South Korea

[Dover]

Cheney to Visit Japan, China and South Korea
By ERIC SCHMITT

WASHINGTON — Vice President Dick Cheney plans to visit China, Japan and South Korea next month to discuss North Korea's nuclear arms program, operations in Iraq and trade policy, Bush administration officials said Wednesday. It will be only his third overseas trip since taking office three years ago.

The weeklong trip, which the White House has not yet formally announced, was originally scheduled for last spring, but had to be postponed in light of the crisis in Iraq. It would also have coincided with the outbreak of SARS in Asia last year.

Traveling to Asia in mid-April would allow Mr. Cheney to demonstrate his foreign policy expertise at a time when he is also assuming an increasingly visible role in the nascent presidential campaign.

"The fact he's making this trip in an election year signals the importance the administration puts on alliance maintenance, North Korea and U.S.-China relations," said a senior Republican Congressional aide. "It's an important region with lots going on, and it can't afford to wait until after the election....cont'd >

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/25/politics/25CHEN.html

[mouse7]

1. Translation: Cheney runs like hell from US before lynching (n/t)

[maddezmom]

2. mid-April, isn't that the next time the 9/11 commission meets?

maybe it's an omen...doesn't want to be around for the shit to hit the fan.

[0007]

3. Big fucking deal!! Does the U.S. need more money?

[Florida_Geek]

4. How many Fund Raisers will he have on this

trip. Cheney does not go away where with out collecting money.

[The Backlash Cometh]

5. Maybe he's looking for new places to live?

?

[yltlatl]

6. "can't afford to wait"

but it was no big deal to wait until after we illegally invaded Iraq. Whatever. I do wonder what the real reason for his trip is though... Maybe Bolton wasn't able to piss enough people off.

[Stockholm]

7. Oh dear...

Are not US relations with these countries strained enough?

[chenGOD]

8. Yeah he's definitely not going to get a warm reception here...

in South Korea. There's still the impecahment issue going on here, mid-april is right after the parliamentary elections (where hopefully the Korean population will be sending a message to the old school).

They won't have a lot of time to listen to a robot looking like Cheney.

He's probably coming to Korea to tell them to not even think about buying helicopters from the EU. "The special relationship don't you know?"

[lostnfound]

9. Just declassifed: China helped Libya,Iran,N.Korea build nukes to reach NYC

My amateur reading of it: North Korea here we come?

Earlier this month documents were declassified that China has been helping Libya, Iran, and North Korea develop nuclear missiles that could target New York. Maybe Cheney's going to do some armtwisting in China to get them to help with regime change in North Korea? And intends to "reassure" Japan & South Korea.

http://www.inthesetimes.com/comments.php?id=658_0_2_0_C

White House downplays reports that country gave weapons plans to Pakistan

By Jehangir Pocha | 3.18.04

Bejing—Documents declassified March 6 indicate that while President Bush was crusading against Iraq’s mythical nuclear program, three other “axis of evil” countries—Libya, Iran and North Korea—were building nuclear weapons that could reach New York using missile designs provided by Pakistan and China, both of whom are U.S. allies in the war against terror.

The documents, dating from 1965 to 1997, reveal that “China provided assistance to Pakistan’s program to develop a nuclear weapon capability” and stalled U.S. investigations through deceptions, false promises and lies. And even today, the CIA cannot confirm that China has cut illicit nuclear ties with its client states.



By Bush’s own definition this should crown the China-Pakistan axis as the most evil of them all. Yet the White House is trying to dismiss China’s violation of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty as a momentary lapse that belongs to the past....

[Moderator]

10. Lockng

dupe. Apologies for not catching it sooner. discuss here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=442949