Isn’t this sweet???
Clinton, in Japan, talks of ‘harmony’ in US policy
by Arshad Mohammed
Feb 17 (Reuters) — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke on Tuesday of promoting “balance and harmony” in U.S. foreign policy as she visited Japan, drawing an implicit contrast to the administration of former President George W. Bush.
Clinton began her first full day in Asia with a visit to Tokyo’s Meiji shrine, where she took part in a purification ceremony at the Shinto shrine dedicated to Emperor Meiji, considered the father of modern Japan.
Yes, a US democrat honoring emperors and royalty.
Making her first trip as secretary of state, Clinton plans to consult Japanese officials on how to deal with the global financial crisis,
If she has any ideas why hasn’t she told us?
North Korea’s nuclear programs and the war in Afghanistan, a legacy of the Bush administration.
“I started this morning at the Meiji shrine and was talking to the head priest there who told me about the importance of balance and harmony,” Clinton told about 200 U.S. diplomats and their families at the U.S. embassy.
“It’s not only a good concept for religious shrines, it’s a good concept for America’s role in the world,” she added, without citing Bush by name or the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, which polarized global opinion. “We need to be looking to create more balance, more harmony.”
Reads like she’s broadening her religious beliefs???
“We’re going to be listening but we’re also going to be asking for more partnerships to come together to try to work with us to handle the problems that none of us can handle alone,” Clinton added, referring partly to the global financial crisis.
Partnerships to do what? No secrets, please!
Japan has been especially hit hard by the economic slowdown. Its economy shrank in the final quarter of 2008 at the fastest rate since the first oil crisis in 1974, and economists bet on another big contraction in January-March.
“These are hard times economically for the Japanese people, just as it is in many places around the world,” Clinton said. “I am absolutely confident we will navigate our way through these difficulties.”
The blind leading the blind, but this time holding hands?
China next…
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