Back to Gideon RachmanBy Mure Dickie, FT Japan bureau chief
Foreign travel is always a learning experience. The first Asia tour as US president for the usually hyper-capable Barack Obama is a good chance for him to master one important skill needed for diplomacy in the region: how to say the name of Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
In just about the only duff note in his speech in Tokyo, Obama stumbled badly when his teleprompter reached the bit about Burma, first pausing and then reading it “soo kee?” in a questioning tone. The usual pronunciation is “soo chee”.
Not the end of the world, but hardly helpful given that Obama was trying to show he means business in finding a way to persuade the Burmese regime to release Suu Kyi and liberalise generally.
Nor, on the face of it, is Obama’s “new approach” all that compellingly different from the old. He refreshingly admitted that neither US sanctions nor engagement by others (such as Japan) had succeeded in improving the lives of the Burmese.
So what does Obama have to offer instead? Er, this blend of sanctions and engagement: “We are now communicating directly with the leadership to make it clear that existing sanctions will remain until there are concrete steps toward democratic reform”. Don’t hold your breath.
This blog covers a variety of topics from US foreign policy to European politics and the Middle East - and whatever else happens to be in the news or catch my attention. I joined the FT as chief foreign affairs commentator in 2006, after a 15-year career at The Economist which included stints as a correspondent in Brussels, Bangkok and Washington. I write a weekly column on foreign affairs, which appears in the paper on Tuesdays. Occasionally my FT colleagues contribute posts to this blog.
Geoff Dyer is the FT's China bureau chief. He has been a correspondent in Shanghai and in Brazil and has also covered the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology industries from London.
Roula Khalaf is the FT's Middle East editor. She has worked for the FT since 1995, first as North Africa correspondent, then Middle East correspondent and most recently as Middle East editor. Before joining the FT, she was a staff writer for Forbes magazine in New York. 
James Blitz is the FT's defence and diplomatic editor. He has been the FT's political editor, based in London, and Rome bureau chief. James is a former Moscow bureau chief for the Sunday Times.
Alan Beattie is the FT's world trade editor. He has previously been economics leader writer and spent two years in Washington DC as chief US economics correspondent. Before joining the FT, Alan was an economist at the Bank of England. 
Victor Mallet is the FT's Madrid correspondent. He is a former Asia editor of the FT, and, in more than 20 years at the organisation, has also worked in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. In 1990 he escaped from Kuwait after being one of the few foreign correspondents there when Iraq invaded. 
Stefan Wagstyl is the FT's eastern Europe editor, co-ordinating coverage of the region. He has also been the FT's bureau chief in Tokyo and New Delhi.
