The Albright Express

BONN: The black Stetson said it all. Sporting a jaunty cowboy hat that would have made her dour predecessor Warren Christopher cringe, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright declared at the start of her first overseas tour that "the Albright Express is launched." The new Secretary faces a challenging agenda. In Europe, she aims to develop a consensus among U.S. European allies on NATO policy toward Russia, soothe Moscow's worries over the July kick-off of NATO's eastward expansion and size up the chances that an ailing President Boris Yeltsin will be able to see an agreement through. Then, on a whirlwind tour of South Korea, Japan and China, she will stress American strategic interests in Asia while walking a tricky three-way tightwire linking Seoul, Beijing and Pyongyang over the recent defection of North Korean Hwang Jang Yop to the South. In Rome, Albright gave the world a sneak preview of what she terms her "people-to-people" style of diplomacy, shaking hands with American tourists and posing for photos with French schoolchildren. Nor did her punchiness wane inside government buildings. Capitalizing on her reputation for straight talk, the Secretary of State told Italian leaders yesterday that she's disturbed by Italy's cozy commercial relationship with "rogue states" Iran, Libya and Cuba. At a press conference in Bonn, Albright took on the high-profile debate over German treatment of the Church of Scientology, dismissing as "historically inaccurate and totally distasteful" criticism that the measures being taken against Scientologists are reminiscent of Nazi treatment of the Jews. Stopping next in Paris, Albright, speaking partially in French, delivered a eulogy for late American Ambassador Pamela Harriman before chewing over a French proposal for a special NATO charter with Russia. The Albright Express steams ahead to NATO headquarters in Brussels on Tuesday for more talks on Russia, and moves on to London on Wednesday for more consensus-building. Next stop: Moscow.