A New Direction

Adek Berry / AFP / Getty Images

Hand-holding: Clinton with Yudhoyono in February

Over soy lattes and buttery-soft muffins, I sat down in a coffee shop a few weeks ago with one of Washington's savviest Asia activists. Through endless networking and tireless advocacy, she has helped keep Burma's human-rights abuses on Washington's radar, even though the country has little strategic significance to the U.S. During the George W. Bush Administration, she exuded confidence. Now she's anxious. Barack Obama's government has taken a close interest in Burma, but not the sort she wants. On a trip to Asia in February, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters that the White House would...

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