Ralph Cossa's Nov. 13 article, "Advice on Asia for Obama," should be taken with a healthy pinch of salt. Cossa fails to distinguish between the arrogant, humiliating, U.S.-backed verification proposal (for the denuclearization of North Korea), which could only be accepted by a nation defeated in war, and a more reasonable approach that an Obama administration will hopefully pursue.
Cossa criticizes former South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun's conciliatory approach to North Korea because it was not hardline enough. And he has the unmitigated call to suggest the appointment of "neocon" Richard Armitage as U.S. ambassador to Japan, a man linked to the Iran-Contra scandal and one of the Bush administration officials who outed CIA agent Valerie Plame.
Contrary to Cossa's analysis, it still matters a great deal to China who defines "responsible stakeholder." Following Cossa's advice could lead to more foreign policy failures, and President-elect Barack Obama would do well to ignore it.
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