If there had been any doubt that the U.S. would play the role of pariah at the upcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development, it was banished yesterday when White House officials announced their goals and strategies for the meeting, which begins next week in Johannesburg, South Africa. The U.S. delegation’s plan is, essentially, to stonewall: It will resist any changes to international agreements on trade and development and oppose any new targets or specific aid figures — and although it is offering an aid package worth nearly $4.5 billion, most of the money is just a reshuffling of preexisting programs. Those positions, coupled with the fact that the delegation will be lead not by President Bush but by Secretary of State Colin Powell, make it unlikely that the U.S. reps will meet another one of their stated goals — using the summit as a platform to rebut international criticism of Bush’s environmental policies and his failure to be a team player in global issues.
