Fran O'Sullivan: US envoy's 'two worlds' theory not far off mark

WikiLeaks cables show John Key (pictured with Hillary Clinton) is playing games over the status of the bilateral relationship. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Helen Clark is not amused by what she considers a "bizarre" United States Embassy cable that refers to New Zealand as two worlds - pro-US "first worlders" and anti-US "other worlders".

But at the time when former US Ambassador Charles (Butch) Swindells said New Zealand's foreign and defence policies were the product of an internal debate between two worlds he was not that far off the mark.

In Swindells' "first world" camp he put most military, intelligence, foreign affairs and business professionals, and a handful of politicians. He believed this camp valued its relationship with the US and still saw New Zealand as a US ally.

In the former ambassador's "other world" were most politicians, media, academics and much of the public. Swindells thought this world viewed the US with suspicion or hostility and saw New Zealand as non-aligned.

Swindells was probably pushing the limit when he said the two worlds met "in the person of Prime Minister [Helen] Clark, who alone controls the defence and intelligence portfolios within Cabinet, and who can always call on the 'other-worlders' in the Labour caucus to rein in her long-time rival, Foreign Minister [Phil] Goff" and that "... the Prime Minister uses military and intelligence co-operation with the US - and high-level visits in particular - to give the illusion in some circles in Washington that New Zealand is still an ally, while maintaining as much as possible New Zealand's non-aligned policies and the PM's anti-American image at home".

In truth, many of those whom Swindells put in his "first world" camp would have shared his assessment. Particularly those private-sector players - including this columnist - who led the push to form a stronger relationship with the US shortly after Clark became Prime Minister.

Like Clark, some of us had our formative years during the Vietnam protest era and did not like what we then saw as "bully boy" behaviour by American figures after David Lange's Labour Government imposed its nuclear ships ban during the 1980s.

But as time passed, with it came the burning recognition that we wanted New Zealand's relationship with the United States to be defined by the shared values both countries stood for, not simply for it to remain stuck in the nuclear groove and all the anti-American hysteria that surrounded it.

In December 2001, Clark gave the opening address at a conference I chaired which was designed to focus on our commonalities.

Given her own political history, it must have taken considerable courage on her part to lend her leadership to the event. But September 11 - with its devastating images of the United States under attack - provided a circuit-breaker. Clark gave a thoughtful speech and took assiduous notes during the subsequent addresses of our leading American visitors.

Rather optimistically we had named the conference "Creating Coalitions of Common Interest" and the following day formed the New Zealand United States Council to take the bilateral relationship forward. But when a business group accompanied Clark on her first official visit to Washington in 2002 we quickly found NZ's nuclear policy was still a real rock in the road when it came to pursuing stronger trading links.

Clark and her top foreign affairs officials made sure that reality was swept under the carpet. Our American counterpart organisation wanted to host the first US-NZ Partnership Forum in Washington in 2004. But Clark was still simmering over the US reaction to her slating George Bush on the Iraq invasion.

Typically, officials were too nervous to proceed without her wholehearted support. In the meantime, Kiwi media continued to obsess about the particular degree of friendship that the US and NZ enjoyed.

It was not until 2006 (well after Swindells' term as ambassador was over) that the first forum was finally held. The nuclear issue was immediately put on the table and it is fair to say the New Zealand delegation gained a greater understanding of the US position. The boil was lanced. And with it went much of the poison that had spoilt the bilateral relationship.

Since then both sides have agreed to move on.

This will be apparent when a joint study on the relationship is released at the fourth partnership forum in Christchurch next month.

Clark's waspishness over the WikiLeaks revelations on the United States' Ambassador's observations is understandable.

But less so is the absurd game played by our current Prime Minister who, the Wikileaks cables reveal, deliberately clouded the crucial fact that the bilateral intelligence relationship between the US and New Zealand was fully restored in August 2009.

John Key was not a political player during the 1980s - he was too focused on foreign exchange dealing back then to be obviously concerned over the big issues of our time.

But now he is Prime Minister there is no reason to perpetuate the inanities of the past 25 years.

* Fran O'Sullivan is taking a break - this column returns on January 22.