Bye, bye, pivot to Asia?
As the chances of US military intervention in the Middle East grow, the focus on the Indo-Pacific region is being challenged
WHEN former US president Bill Clinton hosted the Leaders’ Summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum in Seattle in 1993, the Middle East started to feel like old news.
Resisting pressure to oust Saddam Hussein and launch new military campaigns in the Middle East, Clinton promoted a trade liberalisation agenda in East Asia and tried to transform Apec from a “talking shop” into a pillar of an Asia-centric foreign policy.
America did embrace that outlook that was front and centre in the Clinton years, which included, among other things, an active policy of diplomatic and military engagement with China, before 9/11 pulled the focus of American diplomacy and national security back to the broader Middle East.
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