Friday August 28, 2009, 5:46 am
Historically, there is little reason for the two countries to regard each other as enemies. Despite the US-backed occupation of northern Shan State by the Chinese Kuomintang in the 1950s, Burmese military commanders have never felt the same hostility toward the US that they reserve for Burma’s former colonial masters, the British.

Burma’s current rulers have not forgotten that their predecessor, Gen Ne Win, was a guest in the White House just a few years after seizing power. At the time, the US was keen to get a foothold in a country on China’s doorstep. Ironically, when Ne Win killed unarmed students in 1970s, it was Beijing, not Washington, that expressed outrage.
Fearing Communist China’s growing influence in the region, the US had no qualms about forming close military ties with Burma. For decades, top officers in the Burmese armed forces attended West Point and the Command and General Staff College, while key members of Burma’s most feared spy agency were trained by the CIA.

Washington was also generous with its military hardware. Until the late 1980s, Burma’s army and air force employed US jet fighters, helicopters and M-16 assault rifles. Bell helicopters supplied by the US to help Burma wage a war on drugs were also used in operations against ethnic insurgents. And when Burmese riot police fired on students in 1988, they were armed with American-made M-16s...

Friday August 28, 2009, 5:53 am
"Burma Review to be Completed Soon: US" (Irrawaddy)
The Obama Administration on Thursday indicated that its policy review on Burma is could be completed in the next few weeks.
The acceleration of the Burma review process, which was started by the Obama Administration in February this year, follows recent developments including the visit to Burma of Sen James Webb and the extension of house arrest for the pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
“I would expect that in light of recent developments, we would advance that review and reach some judgments in the next few weeks,” said Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs P J Crowley at the daily State Department news conference.

Last week, Crowley had said that extension of house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi would have a negative impact on the review process.
On his return from Burma, Webb briefed officials at the State Department on the talks he had with the Sen-Gen Than Shwe and Aung San Suu Kyi. He was the first American lawmaker to visit Burma in a decade. Webb is expected to meet Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after her vacation.

Noting that the focus of the Obama Administration on Burma has multiple dimensions, Crowley said: “One of the dimensions is their continued detention of Aung San Suu Kyi, and 2,100 other political prisoners. Our second dimension is the ethnic conflict that continues in Burma and what we could do to try to encourage a broader dialogue within Burma.
“We have an interest in seeing Burma stabilize,” he said. “We have an interest in seeing Burma end its isolation. How we do that is a subject of review.”

Meanwhile lawyers of Suu Kyi said they will submit an appeal to the Divisional Court in Rangoon next week against the criminal conviction that put the democracy leader under house arrest for 18 more months.
Nyan Win, one of the lawyers and spokesperson for National League for Democracy, said the lawyers met Suu Kyi for two hours on Thursday afternoon to finalize details of her appeal.

Friday August 28, 2009, 6:02 am
US Congress Staffers Meet NLD (Irrawaddy)
Three US Congress staffers met with representatives from the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) in Rangoon for talks about political prisoners including Aung San Suu Kyi, and the US policy review on Burma, an NLD spokesman said.

“We met with the Congress staffers at NLD headquarters at 4 p.m. On Friday. The main reason for their trip is to discuss humanitarian issues,” NLD spokesman Nyan Win said. “We talked about Burmese politics—the first issue they raised concerned the political prisoners.”
The US Congress staffers also asked about Suu Kyi’s detention, he said.

During the meeting, the staffers told the NLD policymakers are still discussing a US policy shift in Washington. “But they said they did not think a decision on the Burma policy review will come soon,” Nyan Win said.
After US Senator Jim Webb’s recent trip and article in the New York Times, Nyan Win said he told the Congress staffers that Suu Kyi said she did not think his trip and his writing reflected the policy of the Obama administration.
“I think the staffers came to Burma to survey the facts for the policy review or for Congress,” he said.

Sunday August 30, 2009, 2:41 am
Governments which stubbornly persevere in flaunting human rights (and animal welfare and ecology) should not receive support unless they take concrete steps to modify their policies. It is not right to invest on the one hand and deplore on the other. Thank you Ben.

Sunday August 30, 2009, 5:58 am
Of course they would want sanction slifted... it's not about the friendship it'a about what we can get out of the US

Monday August 31, 2009, 4:58 am
True Burma would like to have sanctions lifted for material gain, but what has the US done other than levy sanction? Maybe the time has come to forsake the give me this for that attitude. What about the imprisionment of Aung San Suu Kyi for the past years? Nothing has been done. Washington was definately in a position to help out. Unfortunately politics is a nasty game played by the rich .

Monday August 31, 2009, 8:19 am
"When things fail, then it's time to ask questions,
fix the problems and redesign the system so it works for everyone.
That's the challenge of the day. "
(Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize winner and microcredit pioneer)