Webb v. The Consensus on Burma

Walter Lohman / August 13, 2009

U.S. Senator James Webb (D-VA) is in Burma today. News reports indicate that he will be meeting with junta leader Than Shwe in what is being billed as the first ever meeting between the junta chief and a U.S. official. Coming just days after the regime extended the detention of Democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, the meeting will certainly serve to validate the junta at a time when international revulsion has reached one of its periodic, crisis driven peaks.

This is unfortunate. But there is more at stake than simply whether or not American officials and Burmese officials talk. The problem posed by Senator Webb’s visit is his position on U.S. policy and the confusing signals it may send to both Burma and the region. (more…)