Our country’s Asia-Pacific role

There’s the slip into the inconvenient ditch of soul-searching trying to define the role of the U.S. in the Asia-Pacific region. Just as I threw in the white towel I came across an explanation of this very issue in the book Asian Values-Western Dreams by Greg Sheridan.

He explained the United States’ role in Asia and the Pacific as basically one of security. Because of its unmatched naval firepower in Asia and the Pacific, it must keep its presence here. This is to ensure stable relationships between Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and China. Instructive policies are analyzed and issued to CINCPAC Office in Hawaii for implementation.

After the Cold War, the U.S. left much of sovereign dispositions to leaders in Asia. It finally left the Philippines—a huge naval and air force base—by giving the issue of disposition to the Philippines’ bicameral national legislature. It died in the Senate and the proposal—with or without approval from the Philippines—was carried forward.

The decision by the U.S. to leave the Philippines was a major signal to sovereign countries in the region that final disposition of matters of state is in their hands. It’s a good policy decision that took awhile for local digestion as they carried the brunt of decision-making themselves. Essentially, the U.S. placed prominence in the interest of governance among countries in this part of the world at solidification of nation building.

I would think that leaving decision-making to local leadership would descend in similar fashion with respect to the CNMI’s rights of governance to exercise greater degree of self-government. It’s a logical progression of policy transfer.

Obviously, the powerful though atrophied unbridled few staffers on Capitol Hill and Pennsylvania Avenue have allowed their distracted bosses to overlook what they have crafted into the federalization of labor and immigration. The hasty policies leave a nasty vacuum—no financial cushion to cover the annihilating effects of the new policies. It’s déjà vu once more confirming the lack of expertise on the part of atrophied congressional and administration staffers to provide the tools necessary to implement new policies, realistically. It’s a sink-or-swim situation.

Increased federal role would bump against the interest of local governance. If the impending economic annihilation is any indication of what the arrogant and unbridled few could inflict here, imagine dealing with the staff of various committees and subcommittees of the U.S. Congress, departments in the federal government or the thousands of agencies who must give their approval before we do anything out here.

It’s insane and economic destruction or annihilation isn’t necessarily knocking on our door. It’s already ravaging everything it finds in our living room! The planned lawsuit is the only sure- fire way to bring these destructive issues to justice in the interest of local governance.