OBAMA'S TRIP TO ASIA.

President Obama's visit to Asia has to be more than just being a friendly one to renew relations with China and tighten those with Japan and South Korea; with North Korea, Iran and Afghanistan being the most problematic issues conspicuously silhouetting in the background against a glazed oriental sky.

What to do with Kim Jong-il's determination to push his country into establishing itself as a nuclear power in that precarious part of the world; Iran aiming at playing "hide and seek", also, about nuclear weapons; and not to mention Afghanistan and Pakistan becoming unstable in all aspects, politically, socially and economically.

The last two are the new tinder boxes that are ready to explode, if they have not already done so, as reports of casualties of American and allied forces tend to increase; as well as the daily bombings that are taking several lives at a go, becoming more routine. Some of his military advisers are urging him to handle the situations there with much caution, while others are demanding that additional man-power will be needed to bring the Taliban and Al Qaeda insurgency to a point where it can become subdued, if not to get those radical Islamist terrorists organizations to completely surrender.

If there are other issues to deal with on this trip, the debt due China must grudgingly be confronted, as most economist assert that it is one of the forces driving the economies of the world, including that of the United States. The power of the dollar is diminished and continues to diminish, and thus causing high unemployment at home, and also increasing prices of American manufactured and export products, making them less competitive, in terms of their high purchase costs, with similar foreign products, like cars and computer technologies, on world markets.

In other words, it is not just public relations that must be what the president is liable to concern himself with, but also other serious economic and political issues that are fraught with complications, must be tackled vehemently, so that when he returns, his visit will be considered worthwhile.

He was elected on the premise of change; however, there was nothing he could do to dramatically alter U.S. foreign policy as a whole, except to reaffirm its commitment to world peace, and the philosophy to maintain a strong and viable economy that would be able to extend a helping hand to struggling and poor nations around the world. He could achieve much, on the financial fronts, by starting renegotiating agreements that were making America's currency to dwindle, and to deny any compromises that would drive his country into owing more to other countries, such as China and Japan.

He has a chance of starting the process that would bring about change to most world economies, including that of his own, of course.