[Berita ini agak pendek tetapi berguna. Mahathir begitu kempunan untuk bertandang ke Rumah Putih menemui Presiden Bush. Sebelum ini beliau telah menemui Dennis Blair, Komander Admiral U.S. di Asia-Pasifik, dan Lynn Pascoe, Diplomat Amerika di sini.

Krisis ekonomi dan politik serantau nampaknya membimbangkan Mahathir. Kemana lagi dia perlu mengadu jika tidak kepada tuannya....

(Estrada, Thaksin dan Gus Dur sedang dihenyak mahkamah dan kebangkitan luar biasa rakyat. Singapura yang hebat itu pula sedang menggelongsor..) - Editor]

http://www.feer.com/0107_26/p010intell.html

INTELLIGENCE

Issue cover-dated July 26, 2001

Mahathir Eyes the White House

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad is getting almost frantic in his efforts to wrangle an invitation to visit the White House. In recent months, he has sent three letters to President George W. Bush, including one in which he congratulated the new president on his handling of the surveillance aircraft incident with China in April, according to Asian diplomats in Washington. Right after the incident, Mahathir had seemed to sympathize with China, telling the press that "no country likes to be spied on." Mahathir has also sent three envoys to Washington--former UN Ambassador Razali Ismail, Finance Minister Daim Zainuddin (prior to his recent retirement) and Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar--to meet Bush's foreign-policy team, check whether the new administration was interested in improving relations and take a sounding on whether a visit might be possible. Back in Kuala Lumpur, the prime minister has taken unprecedented steps to improve relations with the U.S. by meeting with U.S. Asia-Pacific Commander Adm. Dennis Blair and Ambassador Lynn Pascoe. Relations soured after Mahathir fired and arrested his deputy Anwar Ibrahim in 1998, prompting criticism from U.S. Vice-President Al Gore. After his meeting with Pascoe, Mahathir told journalists that he told the American envoy that "we feel we could probably improve our relationship with the new administration and do away with whatever differences we have had."