By Otto Kreisher
WASHINGTON: There's an increasing consensus in Washington that America's future lies in the Pacific. It's one of the few things both parties can agree on. Unfortunately, if we can't reach an agreement to get our fiscal house in order, the governments in the Asia-Pacific region will have every reason not to take our strategy seriously.
Republicans and Democrats agree that "the future, and the history, of the 21st century will be written in the Asia-Pacific region," declared the State Department's top official for the region, Assistant Secretary Kurt Campbell. While the US is not abandoning the Middle East, Europe, or the rest of the world, he said, "the wheel has been turned and that we are now proceeding in what is our national destiny - as an Asia-Pacific strong partner."
But to be that strong partner, Campbell went on, "as important as anything else we do is how we conduct ourselves domestically. [Whether we] get our domestic budget situation resolved, and whether we will be able to successfully engage in several of our domestic challenges, is at the heart of how Asia views our enduring partnership in the region."
Campbell, a veteran Asian hand, quoted Australia's defense minister as saying America "is one comprehensive budget agreement away" from removing regional doubts about our commitment -- an assessment with which Campbell vigorously agreed. The problem, so far, is getting that agreement, with the automatic budget cuts known as sequestration looking increasingly likely and even the first-ever US government default a possibility.
Read the full story at AOL Defense