Bob Levey Todd Cross/TWP

Good afternoon and welcome to "Levey Live". I'm Washington Post columnist Bob Levey, your host.

"Levey Live" appears each Tuesday from noon to 1 p.m. Eastern time. It's your chance to talk directly to major newsmakers and to key Washington Post reporters and editors.

Our guest today is the Post's assistant managing editor for foreign news, Jackson Diehl.

Diehl joined the Post in 1978. He has specialized in foreign news since 1981. He has served as a foreign correspondent for the Post in Warsaw, Buenos Aires and Jerusalem. He has held his current position since 1992.

Among the topics we will consider today are President Clinton's recent trip to China, the recent flap over nuclear weapons in India and Pakistan and America's role in the world since the fall of the Soviet Union.

Your questions and comments for Jackson Diehl are welcome throughout the hour.

Chicago: Do think that Benjamin Netenyahu will be able to broker any sort of lasting peace in the middle east during his term?

Jackson Diehl: That is the big question about Netanyahu that many people in the country are debating. We published a story about it last week by our correspondent there, Lee Hockstader. Netanyahu insists that he can make the deal; his critics and many Israelis are beginning to doubt it.

Washington, D.C. and Belfast, N.I.: Why is the Post's world news section so small? This most definitely has kept the Post from being considered one of the premier papers in the world. And the foreign news section is tiny, not just in comparison to other papers worldwide, but domestic papers, such as the New York Times.

Jackson Diehl: Well, we wish the section could be larger, but it's probably larger than you think. Unlike most American newspapers, we have not reduced our space for foreign news in recent years, and have in fact expanded our correspondent network abroad. Our foreign news report is far larger than all but a couple of other American papers, and on many days we are larger than the New York Times.

St. Paul, MN: Mr. Diehl, I am planning on taking a trip to the Russia, Moscow or possible St. Petersberg, my question is this, do you think that with the recent rise in mafioso type crime in this country that travel is safe?

Jackson Diehl: The State Department says that travel there is safe and I don't know of any reason to disagree. Mafia-type crime has declined a bit in Russia in the last year or two, and Western tourists have not been its victims.

Arlington, VA: How has the media coverage of Kosovo been different, if at all, to the reporting from Bosnia? And, why do you think Kosovo elicits such little apparent concern from the public?

Jackson Diehl: I think the amount of coverage of Kosovo has been similar to that of Bosnia, at least in the Post. I think the situation in Kosovo is even harder to explain to readers than that of Bosnia. It's hard to distinguish the various ethnic groups there -- Serbs, Albanians, Macendonians, etc. -- and the various jurisdictions: Kosovo, Serbia, Yugoslavia, Albania, etc. Maybe some readers are too confused to be concerned.

Bob Levey: Probably my age is showing, but in world affairs, I still see America as a prisoner of Vietnam. We aren't as surefooted, or as sure of ourselves, as we used to be. Do you buy this? If so, will it change, soon or ever?

Jackson Diehl: I think that's at least partly true. It seems to me that one turning point in America's involvement in world affairs in the 1990s came when 18 American soldiers were killed in a firefight in Somalia in 1984. The reaction was so strong that the Clinton administration pulled out of Somalia and has been very reluctant to get involved in similar missions since, at least in Africa. The Vietnam analogy is quickly invoked by critics of almost every American military action abroad, and political leaders are unwilling to accept even small numbers of casualties.

Bethesda, MD: During the Dayton Peace Process, why did the US envoys to Bosnia wish so strongly for a united Bosnia with Croats, Muslims and Serbs living together, instead of having 3 different states?

Jackson Diehl: Probably those US envoys would say that the Muslim community in Bosnia would not have agreed to any solution that broke up the country. A partition would have left the Muslims of Bosnia in a very small state that might not be viable. And the US and other Western governments felt an obligation not to reward those who carried out ethnic cleansing during the war in the hopes of creating separate, ethnically-homogenous states.

Vancouver, Canada: What are your thoughts concerning the so-called "crisis in foreign reporting". CJR has noted the use of stringers, wire services and parachuting "hackers" as endemic to foreign reportage. Due to budgetary constraints, foreign news coverage (as a percentage of news printed)has plumeted in recent years. How will editors cope with the need to educate readers, satisfy accounting types and maintain their own journalistic integrity in the coming millenium?

Jackson Diehl: This worries me. International news reporting by American media has dropped very much since the end of the Cold War. This is particulalrly true of television, but many newspapers have cut back as well. At the Post we have tried to go in the other direction. But there is a chicken-andegg problem: editors and publishers say that foreign news should be reduced because polls show that readers and viewers are not interested in it. But one reason they are not interested, of course, is because of the lack of stimulating coveerage.

Washington, DC: How do you attract readers to the foreign news section? (It's almost buried behind the front section so I'm curious as to your tactics for drawing the public in.) Do you hope that people are interested or do you feature certain types of articles? How do you plan to take advantage of the new, color presses when they are available?

Jackson Diehl: We almost always have at least one foreign news story on the front page, and that story jumps onto our pages, which we hope draws readers in. Every day we try and display a good feature story on the first page labeled World News, with photos and graphics. When the new color presses are introduced next year, World News will begin each day in the paper with a full page of news (no advertizing) where we can display our main stories. We hope to use color photos on this page whenever we can.

Bob Levey: Indian and Pakistan alarmed the world with their recent nuclear tests. Would either nation actually USE a nuclear weapon?

Jackson Diehl: They say they wouldn't, but many people who follow the region, or the history of weapon use, worry about it. The Pentagon has done "war games" about India and Pakistan that have ended with one side using a weapon. Of course, both countries have had the bomb for many years; one question now is whether the tests have made its use more likely than before. So far, it appears neither country has actually deployed nuclear weapons -- that is, moved them into a position where they could be used quickly.

Bob Levey: Half an hour remaining with our guest, The Washington Post's assistant managing editor for foreign news, Jackson Diehl.

Wayne, PA: What are the best and worst case scenarios for economic recovery in Asia?

What will the effect be if China devalues it's currency?

Kevin King
<kevinthek@hotmail.com>

Jackson Diehl: A currency devaluation by China could lead to one of the "worst" scenarios for Asia. To compete with Chinese exports, many other countries would be forced to further devalue their currencies. That would put new pressure on banks and businesses in the region that are now just barely surviving, or trying to get back on their feet.

Greenbelt, Maryland: What's the risk if we accept
Taiwan into the UN? What
would you do if you were the
President?

Jackson Diehl: The risk would be a rupture of relations with mainland China, and possibly a military conflict between Taiwan and China. There seems to be no chance that Taiwan will be considered for UN membership anytime soon. Even if the United States supported it, most other nations would not.

Ellicott City, Maryland: Now that the cold war is over, and we have a much better understanding of democracy and communism, is there a new system of government somewhere between the two that will emerge, and will China be it's birthplace?

Jackson Diehl: I doubt it. When I was a correspondent in Eastern Europe during the death throes of those Communist governments during the late 1980s, many people spoke of a "third way" between socialism and democratic capitalism. No one ever found one that worked.

Bob Levey: AIDS in Africa looks like an ominous story to me. It may be an overstatement, but the entire continent could be swallowed by the disease. Should more journalistic firepower be devoted to this story?

Jackson Diehl: Probably. The tragedy is that, even though Africa has a far higher incidence of HIV infection than the United States, most Africans have no hope of obtaining the new drugs available here that have shown some success against the disease.

Baltimore, MD: Mr Diehl - Would you agree that the Clinton has effectively "turned the tables" on the GOP by making the Democrats the "party of business". This is especially evidenced with the China trip.

Jackson Diehl: He might have done that, but there wasn't much evidence of it on the China trip. One remarkable aspect of the trip was the low profile of business. US business leaders did not accompany Clinton, and only a small number of new business deals were announced.

Bob Levey: Does President Clinton still have influence on the world scene despite his Lewinsky troubles at home?

Jackson Diehl: The weight of the US economy and power of the US military mean that any US president will have enormous influence around the world today. But there are signs that some national leaders feel they are dealing with a weakened president. Benyamin Netanyahu of Israel is one; Saddam Hussein may be another.

Bob Levey: We haven't yet mentioned Japan, supposedly our best friend on the other side of the world. Secretary of State Albright says Japan is the cornerstone of U.S. policy in Asia. Do you agree?

Jackson Diehl: It's certainly true that Japan is at the center of US policymaking in Asia these days. The chance that Japan's economy will slump even further, dragging the rest of the world with it, is probably the biggest US concern in the region this summer.

Plainsboro, New Jersey: Is the present plan for global nuclear disarmament really practical? As technologies progress, countries will acquire the know how to build nuclear weapons. Shouldn't the stress be on eliminating the NEED to acquire and build such weapons?

Jackson Diehl: Trying to stop countries from acquiring nuclear weapons is very difficult, though the world has had pretty remarkable success with it in the last couple of decades, when you think abnout it. A number of countries that used to have nkes, or were working hard on acquiring them, have rfenounced them in the '90s -- countries like South Africa, Argentina, and Brazil. Iraq, Iran, and Libya have beenj unable to get them, despite their best efforts. Eliminating the need for weapons sounds like an even harder challenge.

Bob Levey: President Clinton delighted Americans when he appeared on a radio talk show while in China. Did the appearance delight ordinary Chinese?

Jackson Diehl: It seems to have delighted some folks who talked to our reporters. Others were frustrated by the translation on Chinese television, which apparently wasn't good.

Washington DC: Why do the news media have a tendancy to label China as communist China? I find this offensive. China is a country, not a political party, and is a country which happens to be ruled by the ruling party, the communist party. If America were refered as Democratical or republican America, how would people feel?

Jackson Diehl: Funny, an official from the Chinese embassy asked me exactly the same question the other day, in almost the same words. When we describe China as Communist, we are describing its political and economic system, not just the party that rules it. The analogy here would be democratic America, with a small d, not Democratic or Republican America.

Bob Levey: Your analysis, please, of the most recent events in Northern Ireland. A brief hiccup on the way to peace? A backslide to renewed war?

Jackson Diehl: 'd say a hiccup, but Northern Irelan always as a way of surprising us.

Washington, DC: How do you think that the recent EU discussions and their outcomes will affect the US? What do you anticipate both in the European future and the future of the US?

Jackson Diehl: That's a big question. I think the Europe will become more integrated economically and united politically in the next decade, and thus more competitive with the United States for economic and political leadership in the world.

Silver Spring, MD: If the Washington Post had reported that poison gas had been used by the US military in Vietnam and at the same time had no evidence to substantiate the charge would think it appropriate to fire the reporter and editors involved?

Jackson Diehl: It would depend on the specifics of what happened. When one of our reporters invented a story about a young drug addict many years ago, and was discovered, she was fired.

Elkridge, MD: What is the latest situation with KOSOVO?

Jackson Diehl: Fighting is continuing between Serb forces and Albanian rebels. US and Europeans there trying to broker a solution don't seem to see a way to avoid muxch more bloodshed in the short term.

Bob Levey: Bottom line on Clinton's visit to China: He didn't broker new trade agreements. Nor did he make a bit of progress on human rights or weapons proliferation. Yet the trip is generally viewed here as a success. Was it?

Jackson Diehl: Hard to say. It depends on whether there is a long term change in the level of Chinese cooperation with the US, because of the improved atmosphere the visit created, or a significant improvement in the openness of debate and free expression inside China, because of the open speeches and press conferences allowed when Clinton was there.

Bob Levey: That's it for today. Our thanks to Jackson Diehl, The Washington Post's assistant managing editor for foreign news. Be sure to join us next Tuesday when our guest will be Jim Graham, longtime AIDS activist in Washington and current candidate for the D.C. Council.

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