This week's international headlines look awfully daunting to Americans. Tuesday’s vicious Palestinian terrorist attack in Jerusalem reminds us anew of the raw presence of hatred and violence that rules the streets of the modern Middle East. The Ebola outbreak continues to plague three poor countries in West Africa. Russia continues its merciless assault on eastern Ukraine. No wonder then that President Obama is looking toward Asia as the region where he has long wanted to pivot and where there are positive, even historic, opportunities for US foreign policy.
In fact, Obama’s trip last week to China, Myanmar, and Australia was one of the most successful of his presidency. The key stop was Beijing, where Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a bilateral climate change agreement in which they committed to major reductions in carbon emissions and effectively challenged the rest of the world to reach a global agreement in 2015. Obama and Xi also agreed on badly needed transparency measures between Chinese and American armed forces in Asia and on important trade and visa arrangements.
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