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(回答先: アーミテージ元国務副長官、「中国の脅威を無視」とブッシュ政権を批判 投稿者 gataro 日時 2007 年 9 月 04 日 09:25:37)
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22351401-16953,00.html から転載。
China wins as 'US neglects region'
September 03, 2007
CHINA is establishing greater leadership in the Asia-Pacific because the White House is so preoccupied with Iraq that it is neglecting Asia, according to one of the Bush administration's most senior former officials.
"In every measure, China is making real hay right throughout Asia," said Richard Armitage, the former deputy secretary of state under President George W. Bush.
"It's not that we're ignoring Asia a little bit; we're ignoring it totally. We're playing foreign policy at the moment like five-year-olds play soccer, everyone is going after the ball at once rather than covering the whole field.
"Right now, we're just so preoccupied with Iraq that we're ignoring Asia totally."
Mr Armitage's withering assessment of the administration - in which he served for four years in one of its most senior positions - is a severe blow to the Bush administration on the eve of APEC. Mr Armitage, with his close friend and former boss Colin Powell, who was secretary of state when Mr Armitage was deputy, were the two chief sceptics within the Bush administration concerning the Iraq invasion.
They repeatedly warned the US President of the consequences of invading Iraq in terms of the post-invasion period and the responsibility the US would assume for the political future of Iraq.
Mr Armitage was the senior official with the greatest experience of Asia within the Bush administration and his departure has left the administration short of Asian expertise. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is a Soviet expert who has become completely embroiled in the Middle East.
Mr Armitage, in an exclusive interview with The Australian, lambasted what he described as her "disastrous decision to miss two out of three ASEAN regional forums". Dr Rice missed the ASEAN meeting in Laos in 2005 and again earlier this year in Manila. She has also declined to stay for the second day of this year's APEC leaders' summit in Sydney on Sunday, which Mr Bush is skipping. Mr Bush will be represented at Sunday's meeting by US trade representative Susan Schwab. Dr Rice will fly home with the President rather than spend the day with 20 other Asia-Pacific leaders.
Mr Armitage believes Mr Bush will attend the Sydney APEC meeting, despite persistent rumours he may cancel at the last minute. However, he said that if Mr Bush did not attend, this would be "a sure sign of enormous weakness" on the President's part. Mr Armitage said US business was unhappy with the lack of senior administration attention on Asia. "Business is disappointed with the focus of national attention not being on Asia, but business is going off and doing their own thing in Asia and that's good," he said.
Mr Armitage believes the Bush administration has radically underestimated the importance of Asia. "In almost every measure - military budgets, population growths, the need for raw materials - our interests will force us back to Asia," he said.
However, he does not expect the performance of the Bush administration to lift markedly in its last 16 months in office. His assessment of the administration is scathing: "In the seventh year of an eight-year administration, you've got a lot of third and fourth teamers occupying these positions. I don't think you can expect much from this bunch."
That is the most damning assessment of the current Bush administration from any former senior official and will gravely undercut the administration's credibility in Asia.
Mr Armitage said he was "entirely disappointed but not surprised" by the administration's performance. He said it was a result in part of its overall style in foreign policy. "You reap what you sow. You can't be so dismissive of others' views without it having consequences. I believe the United States can exercise leadership while fully taking account of the views of its friends and allies."
Mr Armitage said there was a danger, but not yet a great danger, of Chinese leadership in Asia surpassing that of the US. He said he was aware of the Chinese military build-up and wanted the Chinese to exhibit more transparency in their military actions, but he did not yet think it was destabilising the region.
However, he said that China's rationale for its military build-up had changed. "At first the Chinese explained it as needed to deal with the Taiwan scenario. But they've passed that point and now they talk about the need to protect their oil sources, they won't sub-contract out protection of the high seas to the (US) Seventh Fleet."
Overall, Mr Armitage said Asia was the most successful region in the world. "I think that's true by every measure - the spread of democracy, the relative peace and stability over the last 20 years, the economies booming. By the way, I give the US and our alliance system some credit for that."
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