Taj, here comes Clinton -- most-travelled leader

Taj, here comes Clinton -- most-travelled leader
CHIDANAND RAJGHATTA

WASHINGTON, FEBRUARY 2: If travel is said to broaden one's horizon, Bill Clinton's perspective spans the whole wide earth. The US President is now America's and arguably the world's most travelled leader.

When he arrives in India next month it will be, by some estimates, the 70th country he sets foot in during his seven-plus years in office.

Clinton's travel itinerary, a frequent flyer's delight, surpasses by far those of his immediate predecessors. George Bush visited 36 countries during his four years as President (and many more during his vice-presidency considering US veeps attend a lot of funerals). Ronald Reagan, the all-conquering but all-American hero, managed only 26 countries over eight years as he slowed down towards the end of his second term.

In contrast, the youthful Clinton tore through 21 countries in 1999 alone, as if the world was coming to an end. The White House odometer shows during the year trips to Mexico, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Jordan, Belgium, Germany,Switzerland, France, Slovenia, Macedonia, Italy, Bosnia-Herzegovina, New Zealand, Canada, Norway, Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia.

``Can Nebraska, the one state he has not visited as President, be far behind?'' the Washington Times, a trenchant critic of all things Clintonian, asked recently.

But the White House is unapologetic. ``There are a few places still left on the list he hasn't been, and we have 15 months to rectify that,'' White House spokesman Joe Lockhard replied breezily a few months back as Republican carping reached a crescendo.

Indeed, Clinton is scheduled to go to the Asian conference in Brunei and Japan later this year. He has also Russia and Vietnam on the radar before he demits office on January 20, 2001. A century of countries out of 186 seems out of reach during his Presidency, but 75 is a distinct possibility.

According to one estimate, Clinton has spent some 195 days out of the country during his seven years in office. That's twice as many as President Bush (86) andPresident Reagan (84). Add a week that's coming up in the subcontinent and that number will cross 200. That's about seven months in seven years out of the country.

Clinton began slowly enough, and according to White House officials, during his first term he travelled even less than President Bush did during his only term. But come second term, wanderlust got the better of him. Monicagate only seemed to drive him out of the US even more.

According to State Department historical records, Clinton is the first US President to set foot in a raft of countries including Botswana, Kuwait, Denmark, Slovenia and South Africa. Now add Bangladesh to the list.

The President's ceaseless sorties out of the country have attracted plenty of sniping from the more insular Republicans. Last year, three Conservative lawmakers nudged the General Accounting Office into toting up the costs of what they felt were some rather pricey trips.

The GAO report found the administration had spent $72 million on three of the mostexpensive trips.

The biggest tab came from a ten-day, six-country swing through Africa that cost $ 42.8 million, more than the annual aid to any of the hapless countries that bore the brunt of the American invasion. A total of 1,302 officials from 12 different federal agencies or departments, including 16 members of Congress, accompanied Clinton on the trip.

``It seems to me that an awful high price tag to pay for an apology,'' Senator Larry Craig, one of the lawmakers who made a big to-do of the perceived excesses, griped. The reference was to Clinton's speech in Uganda in which he expressed regret for the US role in African slavery and Washington's errors in its Africa policy that embraced tin-pot dictators and military juntas as allies during the Cold War (something the President may be reminded of if he stops in Pakistan).

That remark led to an uproar with the Democrats, particularly lawmakers of the Black Caucus who accompanied him, going ballistic.

``You cannot measure in dollars and centsthe value of that this historic trip by the President had to Africans throughout the continent and how proud it made African-Americans,'' New York Democrat Charles Rangel fumed.

The White House also defended the African safari and other forays, arguing that such trips bumped up American exports and created jobs at home.

US officials say how much a Presidential trip costs also depends on where he is going. During his Africa trip, the Defence Department, which picked up most of the $ 42.8 million tab, flew 98 airlift missions to deliver vehicles and other equipment from bases in the US and Europe.

In contrast, a ten-day trip to China in 1998 cost only $ 18.8 million with a delegation less than half the size of the contingent to Africa. Typically, trips to China, Europe, or the Middle-East would cost less because there are US military bases in nearby countries like Japan, Germany and Saudi Arabia to supply much of the travel and security paraphernalia.

If the experience of some of the ``visited''countries is anything to go by, New Delhi can expect a big herd of Americans to come stampeding into India in the coming weeks ahead of Air Force One touching down. The President will also travel with a large business delegation and a score of Congressmen and Senators.

Between summit meetings and regional conferences and business jamborees, Clinton has done his bit of touristy things too. He has jeeped through a game park in Botswana, strolled down the Great Wall of China, and looked up Michelangelo's masterpieces in the Sistine Chapel.

Taj Mahal, here he comes.