https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/missing-mental-pivot-east-asia-leon-hadar?published=u

Missing: A mental 'pivot' to East Asia

Feb 22, 2016

Missing: A mental 'pivot' to East Asia
To move in that direction, US must go beyond well-intentioned plans and "historic" summits
By Leon Hadar
Originally published in the Business Times of Singapore
FEB 23, 2016
Washington
IF YOU have watched US President Barack Obama's press conference telecast live from Ranch Mirage in California last Tuesday after what was billed as a "historic summit" with Asean leaders, you may have been left with the impression that the acronym "ASEAN" stands for the Association of Southwest Asian Nations, and not the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Indeed, with the exception of a few queries about the 2016 US presidential race, most of the questions that the American media directed at Mr Obama involved the civil wars and regional conflicts in West Asia - aka the Middle East - and focused on US policy in that region of the world. Will the United States deploy ground troops into Syria? How will Mr Obama respond to the massive Russian-backed attacks by the Syrian regime on the civilian population? And what about the recent arms deal between Russia and Iran?https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/missing-mental-pivot-east-asia-leon-hadar?published=u