We all know that U.S.-China relations are a tricky aspect of our nation’s foreign policy, which is why the Bush administration is rolling out the big guns for its latest efforts at diplomacy: Cal Ripken is taking a swing at things in Beijing (pun intended).
On August 13th, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice named Ripken Special Sports Envoy for the Department of State, joining former Olympic figure skater Michelle Kwan in enjoying the high-powered position.
Ripken’s week-long trip to China began Monday, and during the course of his stay the Ironman is scheduled to host baseball clinics for children and coaches, hit up a Marine Ball and take time for a barbeque with the consulate staff. If the Baltimore Sun’s in-depth coverage of the trip is any indication, Ripken is already having a delightful time playing soft-toss with Chinese youngsters in red pioneer neckties. If only Nixon could see us now.
In naming Ripken to the position, Rice proclaimed that public diplomacy “must be sought out and conducted … by committed Americans from all walks of life, Americans like Cal Ripken.” It turns out the Kwan and Ripken are only the tip of the iceberg in the State Department’s secret arsenal of diplo-jocks. The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ (ECA) website prominently features stories on the inroads to cultural understanding being made by U.S. and Iranian wrestlers. While government leaders may not be ready to sit down around mahogany tables and talk about nuclear weapons, each nation’s athletes are more than willing to roll around together on mats in the name of intercultural understanding. The U.S. broke official diplomatic relations with Iran in 1980 on the heels of the infamous hostage crisis, but the ECA is supporting what it calls “professional exchange programs” in the wake of President Bush’s call for “people-to-people exchanges with Iran.”
The U.S. has not been so active in its sports diplomacy with Iraq of late. Their last joint event took place in 2003—four months after the U.S. invaded Baghdad—when the U.S. invited a group of Iraqi archers across the ocean for a competition. One wonders if archery is passé in the land of rifle and mortar fire.
Perhaps Ripken would be better served taking his next trip to an even more high-profile hot spot. A photo-op on the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea? A game of catch with Castro (or his brother) might soothe some ruffled feathers. And who knows? Ripken might be able to learn cricket and play a match or two with Gen. Musharraf, and settle this whole nasty business of coups and assassinations. All’s fair in sports and war.
