How the world sees it

BRITAIN

The Independent, London, June 3: It is easy to list the potential pitfalls that might lie in wait for Barack Obama’s Middle East strategy. The U.S. president arrives in Saudi Arabia today for the first leg of his tour with the problems of the region looking as intractable as ever.

Yet there is a case for optimism. And that lies primarily in the fact that the U.S. president is approaching these overlapping challenges in an eminently sensible manner. First, he is setting a conciliatory tone. He has stressed that he will not make the mistake of his predecessor in seeming to want to impose America’s will on the Islamic world regardless of its own wishes.

Practical approach

Second, he is acting in a practical manner, refusing to hint at U.S. support for any particular faction in the forthcoming Lebanese and Iranian elections. He knows that to do so would limit his room for maneuver down the line.

Finally, he is emphasizing the need for patience. He knows any progress toward his objective of an all-encompassing regional deal on a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians will take time. ... The conditions for progress in the region are better than they might at first appear. And the President’s approach contains the right mix of ambition and realism. What he needs to signal this week is his determination to stick to the long and inevitably painful course ahead.

CANADA

The Toronto Sun, June 3: In normal times, yesterday’s taxpayer-financed bailout of General Motors would be one from which any sane investor would run away screaming.

GM is being saved by an investment of $59.5 billion ... from North American taxpayers, $9.5 billion of that ... coming from the Canadian and Ontario governments.

In exchange, Canadians get a 12 percent stake in GM, whose American parent yesterday filed for bankruptcy protection.

Even Prime Minister Stephen Harper conceded Ottawa isn’t counting on getting our money back, although taxpayers will presumably get some return when the government sells its stake in the company, assuming this bailout works.

No job guarantees

The deal contains no job guarantees for Canadian workers, who have already made major concessions to keep the company afloat, merely an agreement to keep 16% of North American auto production in Canada.

Problem is, if GM still goes belly up down the road, 16 percent of nothing is nothing. Plus, taxpayers will lose their entire stake in the firm.

PHILIPPINES

The Manila Times, June 3: President Gloria Arroyos trip to South Korea for an official visit and to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)-Republic of South Korea Commemorative Summit marked the 60th year of strong Korean-Filipino relations and a new milestone in the kinship between Seoul and the Asean community.

South Korea and the Philippines have regarded each other with the highest esteem since the end of the Second World War when diplomatic ties were established. Seoul has been an active Asean associate in the partnership known as Asean Plus 3.

United peninsulaone

A united peninsulaone unified Koreamust be in the vision of the South Koreans. This will not come about soon as Pyongyang continues to fortify its borders and menace its neighbor and the world with its nuclear threat. Reunification will be costly, but the leader under whose administration merger will come will surely be hailed as one of the great men of this century.