Virginia Sen. Jim Webb’s two-week tour of Southeast Asia stands apart from Congress’ tradition of idle summer junketeering. Webb on Saturday became the first U.S. leader to meet the reclusive head of Myanmar’s ruling junta and brokered the release of imprisoned American John Yettaw. He was also the first member of Congress in more than a decade to set foot in the country formerly known as Burma. The first-term Democratic senator raised his profile by carrying out delicate diplomacy at a time when other members of Congress are lying low, heading to beach vacations with family or embarking on overseas jaunts with small delegations of lawmakers. Others still are using the August recess to hunker down in their districts and meet with their constituents at town halls on health care reform. Webb said Sunday he would work toward improving the frigid relationship between the repressive Asian nation and Washington. Critics of Myanmar’s government, however, attacked Webb’s visit as a concession to a military dictatorship with an abysmal human rights record. “I have long believed that if certain obstacles are removed, there is a natural friendship between the U.S. and the people of this country, and it is toward that end I came here, and I will be working toward that solution,” Webb told reporters. Webb, a decorated Vietnam War veteran, chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s East Asia and Pacific Affairs subcommittee. His ongoing tour also includes Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.
