The US relationship
December 17th, 2012 at 12:00 pm by David FarrarThe Herald quotes US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell:
“We fully understand that New Zealand is not looking to go backward to re-create a relationship of the past,” he said, “but to re-create a strong, multi-faceted, multi-dimensional relationship for the 21st century.
“This is pretty much the model of how we want to do business. I think we have about as close a relationship as two countries can have now.”
And he credited the personal regard President Barack Obama had for Prime Minister John Key for the improvement.
“I see President Obama regularly in meetings and I see the leaders that he is attracted to and he has to deal with a huge number of people.
“The truth is there are three or four leaders in Asia that he [strongly] respects and kind of listens to when they talk.
“It’s Prime Minister Lee in Singapore, it’s Prime Minister Najib in Malaysia, SBY (Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono) in Indonesia, Lee Myung-bak in South Korea but Prime Minister Key is in that list.”
A long way removed from when the previous Prime Minister had to do a written apology to the US President for her comments!
Tags: Barack Obama, John Key
December 17th, 2012 at 12:01 pm
US lap-dog, fuck yeah!
Vote:December 17th, 2012 at 12:09 pm
Comrade Clark and the Labour Party did a lot of damage to bilateral relations with the United States.
Vote:And now the anti-American lives there (New York) earning tax-free money. What a cheek!
December 17th, 2012 at 12:13 pm
Manolo – its ok, she will be associating with the type of people that either hate yanks or hate themselves…
mighty kites – you seem to have a bit of a complex going on there..
Vote:December 17th, 2012 at 12:19 pm
“It’s Prime Minister Lee in Singapore, it’s Prime Minister Najib in Malaysia, SBY (Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono) in Indonesia, Lee Myung-bak in South Korea but Prime Minister Key is in that list.”
It might have been newsworthy if he had said Julia Gillard wasn’t on that list.
Vote:December 17th, 2012 at 12:19 pm
Going even further back didn’t Rob Muldoon end up apologising to Jimmy Carter for describing Carter as being just a peanut farmer?
Vote:December 17th, 2012 at 12:20 pm
Well John Key is for redefining marriage and Barack Obama is married to a gorilla so that’s probably part of why they get along so well.
[DPF: 20 demerits]
Vote:December 17th, 2012 at 12:25 pm
I can understand Obama’s take on John Key. He is a very personable man, and an awesome PM.
Vote:December 17th, 2012 at 12:26 pm
“Well John Key is for redefining marriage and Barack Obama is married to a gorilla so that’s probably part of why they get along so well.”
keeping it classy redbaiter.
Vote:December 17th, 2012 at 12:47 pm
“It’s Prime Minister Lee in Singapore, it’s Prime Minister Najib in Malaysia, SBY (Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono) in Indonesia, Lee Myung-bak in South Korea but Prime Minister Key is in that list.”
Notice anything in common with that list?
Eh!
Non democratic leaders Yes
Muslim well 3 are not sure about Korea.
Well fuck me we need an authoritarian regime to make our country work. and the land of the Free are cuddling them, well their President is. Imagine Americans being told there will be no more elections for anyone other then Barack for the next 50 years.
Vote:The ambassador or whoever needs to take a good hard look at where they are going and tell the american public the direction.
December 17th, 2012 at 12:52 pm
I assume you are referring to the former US President George Bush, who you will recall started a war with Iraq on the false pretext that they were harbouring weapons of mass destruction. One wonders if John Key would have involved NZ in the folly of Iraq had he been PM at the time.
I think the warming of relationships that you describe has a lot more to do with Obama becoming president, than John Key becoming PM.
Vote:December 17th, 2012 at 12:55 pm
Obama’s sympathy for the Islamic authoritarians gives new meaning to the term “Muslim Brotherhood“.
Vote:December 17th, 2012 at 1:14 pm
What if Shearer was the PM. Would Obama have the time to listen to him?
Vote:December 17th, 2012 at 3:13 pm
Redbaiter: “Barack Obama is married to a gorilla”
What a charming guy ‘Redbaiter’ is.
Vote:December 17th, 2012 at 3:31 pm
@Griz 1 14, only if it was recorded and edited to remove the 50% um, ah, ahm, err.
Vote:December 17th, 2012 at 3:46 pm
Grizz (398) Says: “What if Shearer was the PM. Would Obama have the time to listen to him?”
Come November 2014, you will know the answer Grizz….
Vote:December 17th, 2012 at 4:33 pm
LOL, Grizz, Obama would wonder where they got Shearer from. Mind you he could serenade him with the guitar. snort LOL.
Vote:December 17th, 2012 at 5:42 pm
campit.
12.52
assume you are referring to the former US President George Bush, who you will recall started a war with Iraq on the false pretext that they were harbouring weapons of mass destruction. One wonders if John Key would have involved NZ in the folly of Iraq had he been PM at the time
1.Repeating the old lying canard – so did all the other world leaders believe Hussein had WMD – he used them against the Kurds.
2. Helen Klarkenfuhrer sent Kiwi troops to Iraq.
You’re a dumb twat campit. Get your facts straight.
Vote:December 17th, 2012 at 6:22 pm
Don
Vote:Would you like to list the ‘world leaders’ who believed Saddam still had any such weapons in 2003? It’s quite a short list, I believe.
Once the United States attacked Iraq, New Zealand adopted a pragmatic approach and sent some people to help in the ‘reconstruction’.
December 17th, 2012 at 6:56 pm
New Zealand adopted a pragmatic approach and sent some people to help in the ‘reconstruction’.
Only after Bush got some compromising photos of Hulun when she stayed at Blair House mm. Or didn’t you know about that?
Vote:December 17th, 2012 at 7:01 pm
Hadn’t heard that one Reid, but you seem open to believing just about anything. Did you read it in a book by Ian Wishart?
Vote:December 17th, 2012 at 7:06 pm
Jesus Bedwetter, that is low even for a POS like you.
Vote:December 17th, 2012 at 7:13 pm
Reddy is pretty low, but didn’t everyone here already know that? Maybe if his Mum supervised him a bit more closely he could still turn out okay.
Vote:December 17th, 2012 at 7:35 pm
… continuing the Bush family tradition of support for oppressive regimes, whether they be Prescott Bush’s Nazi/Christian connections or George senior’s connection with the Wahabi bin Laden family. Religion has always been used for political ends, whether it be the Westminster system or the Muslim brotherhood.
Vote:December 17th, 2012 at 7:40 pm
Ugly’s back with one of his little theories. Does this one encompass the black magic connection via Alisteir Crwoley, Ugly?
Vote:December 17th, 2012 at 7:52 pm
you seem open to believing just about anything
You should get out a bit more mm. Stuff like that happens all the time.
Educate yourself.
Vote:December 17th, 2012 at 8:10 pm
What theory would that be?
Vote:December 17th, 2012 at 8:13 pm
Now Reid, you know I’d be reluctant to condemn this as just another one of your bat-shit crazy theories.
Vote:December 17th, 2012 at 8:14 pm
Ugly
Vote:The theory about the Bushes and the Nazis, etc. I’m pretty sure Reid floated this one a while ago and it included the black magic stuff too.
December 17th, 2012 at 8:27 pm
[DPF: 20 demerits]
What a pathetic little anti-Conservative bigot you really are Farrar.
All the filth that gets daily written on this blog by your arse kissing progressive mates and you single that comment out for demerits?
FFS..!!!
You’re just a pathetic wet liberal joke and a complete politically biased hypocrite.
Vote:December 17th, 2012 at 8:31 pm
I don’t know what you’re talking about, MM. And it would seem that you don’t, either.
Vote:December 17th, 2012 at 8:33 pm
Red you do not get it. Only lefties are allowed to make those sorts of nasty comments on KB, and they do, daily.
Vote:December 17th, 2012 at 8:37 pm
You’re not a c*******tive.
You’re just a c***.
Here’s a little song for you:
Vote:December 17th, 2012 at 9:28 pm
The theory about the Bushes and the Nazis,
It’s not a theory mm. Sure, if you’re uneducated you might think it is, but why don’t you look at Prescott Bush and what he did during WWII. It’s all there, if you care to look. Of course if you already “know” the answer even before you’ve looked, well.
Vote:December 17th, 2012 at 11:15 pm
Season’s Greetings to you too Don! Why don’t you post your real name and address so I know where to send your card.
Vote:December 18th, 2012 at 1:03 pm
I would take Mr. Campbell’s remarks with a grain of salt and not at face value. He was being diplomatic, after all. His comments that the US “welcomed” close NZ-PRC ties is at odds with the US strategic pivot towards Asia, which has as a foremost priority containment of Chinese power expansion in the WestPac Rim. The Wellington and Washington Declarations, the exclusion of the PRC from TPP negotiations, the forward repositioning of US forces in Australia, Singapore and the Philippines (among other places), the expansion of RimPAc exercises, the outreach to india, etc., all suggest that under the nice rhetoric of cooperation there is a looming strategic competition between the US and PRC in play. How NZ fits into that remains to be seen but I would imagine that the US overtures to NZ in recent years might have something to do with that and are designed to keep NZ in the US camp regardless of its economic ties with the PRC. The question is what will happen if push comes to shove between the PRC and US on matters of diplomatic import, which is where the NZ position will be tested.
As for the leaders that Obama respects in the WestPac. Campbell said that there were “three or four,” then went on to mention the political leaders of Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and South Korea, to which John Key was added. So that would make five, of which two are Muslim and all but one democratically elected (however flawed the electoral process may be in some of the countries in question). Either Mr. Campbell is not up on his math or he threw in Mr. Key as an after-thought given who he was talking to (and Ms. Young’s ready acceptance of his answers and uncritical questioning was a poor journalistic display at best).
All of which is to say that I would not put too much stock in this interview.
Vote:December 19th, 2012 at 9:02 am
Excellent. One hopes that the consequence of such access will be facilitated free trade access for our agricultural and other products…although obviously too, we need to recognise that we live in a multipolar world now and accord equivalent weight to our significant trade relationship with China, as well as cultivating closer relationships with emerging powers like India.
Vote: