Jim Webb Flies to Burma

The Clintons aren’t the only ones going on high-profile diplomatic missions these days: The Times of London reports that “Jim Webb, a senior United States senator, who supports a policy of engagement with the Burmese junta and an end to sanctions, is scheduled to arrive in Burma on Friday to see the country’s leader, General Than Shwe, in the first meeting of its kind.” His visit comes as the Obama administration reviews U.S. policy toward Burma, debating whether it should punish the junta further after it convicted and detained Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi or attempt to engage Burma and relax sanctions. According to Webb’s office, “If the [Than] Shwe meeting takes place it will be the first time that a senior American official has ever met with Burma’s top leader.”