Bush Team, humiliated by Papua New Guinea(!), Blinks in Bali, Sort of

London -- At least that's how they're covering it outside the United States. Similar to how it was reported on British TV last night, The Toronto Star, in an article titled "U.S. backs down after needling" reports the game-changer at the UN climate conference was the remarks of the delegate from Papua New Guinea, Kevin Conrad:

"We seek your leadership. But if for some reason you are not willing to lead, leave it to the rest of us. Please get out of the way."

Oh, snap! -- for those needing a Jon Stewart fix. What happened next?

The conference exploded with applause, the U.S. delegation backed down, and the way was cleared yesterday for adoption of the "Bali road map" after a dramatic half-hour that set the stage for a grinding two years of climate talks to come.

Since no hard, near-term targets were agreed to, I'd still call the conference an utter failure, by any reasonable standard, given how urgent the climate problem is. But compared to expectations -- and the painful reality of the richest, most polluting nation on the world working full-time to block everyone else from moving forward -- it was a partial success. The world will continue to work together to develop a roadmap to a post-Kyoto agreement.

The utter disdain that the rest of the world holds our President, if not clear from the ovation for tiny Papua New Guinea's smackdown, drips from the lead editorial in today's The Independent, titled "The world gets the better of Bush," which drops any pretense of British stiff upper lip:

Last week was the week, and yesterday was the day, when the world finally showed that it was terminally fed up with the simple-minded, short-sighted and self-serving outlook of George Bush. The moment came not, as it well might have done, amid the dust and bloody debris of Iraq or the torture and state terrorism of Guantanamo Bay, but in Indonesia's lush and lovely Island of the Gods. And, appropriately, it came over climate change -- the issue on which the "toxic Texan" first showed that he was going to put his ideological instincts and oil-soaked obstinacy over the interests of the rest of the world and of future generations.

Double snap! The rest of the editorial is worth reprinting, because it puts what Papua New Guinea did in diplomatic context, it has insight into Tony Blair's failure, and it has implications for our Presidential election:

The mood had been building all week at the negotiations in Bali on a replacement to the present arrangements under the Kyoto Protocol which run out in 2012. For months the United States, and President Bush himself, had been insisting that it would not block progress. Spin-doctors were dispatched to assert, ludicrously, not only that the President was as committed as anyone to avoiding catastrophic global warming, but that the man who had spent years trying to destroy any attempt to tackle it had always really been on the side of the environmental angels. But once his hard-faced negotiators took their seats in the steamy conference centre at the Nusa Dua resort the pretence slipped away. They blocked virtually every constructive proposal put on the table, refusing any suggestion of concrete action by the US, while insisting that other countries do more and more. Ever since Bush first rejected -- and set out to kill -- the Kyoto Protocol, he had cited as his main objection its exclusion of big developing nations such as China and India. More recently he has indicated that the US would move if they took the first step. Sure enough, they came to Bali ready to take action on their own emissions -- and still the US refused to budge.

It is simply not done in international negotiations for one country to single out another for criticism; it's the equivalent of calling someone a liar in the House of Commons. But from early last week other delegations were publicly, unprecedentedly and explicitly blaming the US for the lack of progress. Worse, they were beginning to point the finger at President Bush himself, suggesting that things would improve once he was gone. That is the kind of humiliation reserved for such international pariahs as Robert Mugabe and Saddam Hussein. But even they were never subjected to the treatment that America received yesterday morning. When it tried, yet again, to sabotage agreement the representatives of the other 187 governments broke into boos and hisses. When Papua New Guinea told the US to "get out of the way", they cheered.

The US buckled, as it has always done in international negotiations when it has been isolated. The same thing happened at the G8 summit in Heiligendamm, Germany, last summer, and two years ago in Montreal, when holding the Bali negotiations was unexpectedly agreed. That is why Tony Blair's fatal flaw of constantly trying to let President Bush off the hook -- while doing so much to raise the profile of climate change internationally -- was so destructive. That is also why it is so deeply disturbing that an EU source told The Independent on Sunday that Britain had helped the US water down the Bali agreement after a phone call from the White House to Downing Street. We must hope, as Hilary Benn insists, that this is wrong. The last thing the country wants, or the world needs, is for us to have replaced the poodle with a Pekinese....

The full scale of the White House's isolation and humiliation, and its consequences for the fading superpower's standing around the world, needs to be understood by the presidential candidates of both parties.

Cool Britannia!

Global warming is now the defining issue of our times, and it will determine almost exclusively how future generations judge us.

Why am I in London? Every year or two, I like to spend some time trying to buy stuff with our worthless dollar and apologizing to foreigners for our president -- and seeing how lamely our traditional media treat issues like climate compared to the rest of the civilized world. Seriously, though, I am attending a small workshop on clean energy and climate solutions, one of a few I hope to attend over the next few weeks, which I will report back on.

Comments

[imsosure]

I think Bush should work on replenishing his Jerungdu, the he might become a real man.

[toronto]

I'm ashamed to have to say it, but Canada also tried to torpedo the proceedings in Bali. Our Environment Minister demonstrated once again that Prime Minister Harper believes Alberta's oil riches and the big oil interests are more important than the fate of the earth.

[factanonverba]

If I didn't read the world press daily, I'd have no idea about half of what's going on worldwide. Yes, the NYT remains the paper of record in the US but it still fails to capture much the below the level of a tsunami overseas.
But that's beside the point, the main point of Mr. Romm's blog is that the US is rather isolated. I can't decide if that's a bad thing or a good thing. True, I am hoping for a major self-correction of 180 degress of an Edwards, a Kucinich or least a 120 degree turn of a Dodd or a Obama and not a 45 degree turn of a Hillary in the US that would restore American luster but I must admit it is not best to let the United States self-implode. The inherent contradictions of the American way of life are increasingly evident. I am not sure that the US can survive much longer as an unified entity. I am not sure if the US economy is capable of withstanding much more shock. The warning signs are self-evident but largely ignored. Sales of women's clothing are down sharply. A merchant friend mine (he sells cards and novelties in an upscale neighborhood) told me his sales are down $10,000 a month year over year. The business, I am guessing, grosses $300-350K. That's a loss of $120K in the worst case possible scenario of 40% but more likely closer to 30%. Another friend of mine whose husband is an independent marketing consultant for high-tech companies told me is business is down "significantly." It is pretty clear to me we are on the verge of something dramatic. In this sense, an America in an economic collapse, would I hope curtail some of the US' excesses abroad and perhaps bring about the vital 180 degree turn the US needs. In short, the world does have the not just the ability but the moral obligation to just say no to the Bush Administration whenever and wherever it needs to be done.

[Pyroclast]

To CSE,

Sorry to disagree with you and Mr. Bloomberg, but the real problem is not the Congress or Bush. Think a little harder and try to remember who elected the Congress and yes, who also elected Bush, twice.

[Hoelder]

Surprise and no surprise. Like you I am getting most of the relevant news from abroad. Unfortunately the American media missed out on the event. There are those American, still in numbers that mix up the climate with the weather and the Nobel committee as a left wing conspiracy to get the very compassionate President and humiliate him. It is now just one past the hour in which the international court will indict leading business men that knowingly poison kids and sell out the rest of the US policy. Is it really so hard to understand that being a super power does not depend on what Americans or their President thinks but what the rest of the world thinks. Obviously, that ship has sailed and the American media forgot to mention that sooner or later companies that have nothing American left than having their head quarters on the same US soil that comes cheap for foreigners to buy. It is really amazing to me that this republic has nothing better to do than shop away anything America stands for. The EU commission has already started to rid the world from monopoles and unsafe American products, it is just a matter of time until the rest of the world will do away with America by buying us out.

[thgy]

"or get out of the way" That was what they couldn't allow, that is why they "seemed" to give in.
If you are at the head of a line and are managing to control the movement of the line, and someone else decides to start a new line that goes around you - of course you will give a little just to keep the people behind you in your line.
There is an old Irish story about a factory owner and the Union. When ever his workers started talking about forming a union to get better pay and working conditions he would blast his radio throughout the factory tormenting all within hearing distance. The workers would send the foreman to ask the owner to turn down the radio and the owner would say "no". Then the workers would form a delegation to ask the owner to turn down the radio and they would be rejected too. Then the delegation was told to demand the radio be turned down and the owner would throw the delegation out of his office with the word "NO". Finally the workers, having enough of the intolerable noise, would agree to a walkout. After they had stood outside the factory for a few hours the owner would relent and turn down the radio and the workers would return to their jobs feeling empowered.
And by the way forgetting about forming a union to get better wages and working conditions.

[TXfemmom]

Now, were the American people to take the stand of tiny New Guinea? We need to stand up and smack down Bush and his entire damn administration. Impeach Mukasey, Bush, Cheney, and the entire bunch of thugs and THEN INDICT.

[hglindquist]

Thank you!!!

[CSE]

It is easy to focus on one entity. It may be, however, much to our benefit if the rest of the world also focuses on Bush and believes once he goes away that America will again join the family of reasonable and educated nations.

However, as Michael Bloomberg was quoted 'The real problem is Congress. They're unwilling to face any issue that has costs or antagonizes any group of voters.'

There is still very little discussion on the details of American opposition. There was mention of "pledges" but it is still unclear what "pledges" were expected and whether they were committed action or committed funding.

There was also no discussion on how US policy will be forced to consider the smaller and poorer countries where US corporate interests will be as, if not more, adversely affected by future international environmental accords.

The following statement is so vitally important for every American to understand - "The full scale of the White House's isolation and humiliation, and its consequences for the fading superpower's standing around the world, needs to be understood by the presidential candidates of both parties." - but I'd rather have seen it conclude with "all presidential candidates" without mention of our handicap of the two existing parties and their minions.

[tomsfork]

The only thing that surprises me about all this is how long it took for the international community to tell Bush to STFU.

When Bush took office, the United States was the leader of the free world, and the world's only superpower. Now we are neither. What a wonderful administration this has been - for our enemies.

[jdm58]

Glad to know that somewhere in the world, the truth is being heard! The next 11 months will feel like an eternity.