Barack Obama's policy of "pragmatic engagement" with the Burmese military junta is in danger of falling apart as the generals press ahead with plans for elections later this year from which the country's main opposition party, the National League for Democracy, has been effectively excluded. Pressure is now growing for a tougher approach – though it's unclear what, if anything, can make the regime change its mind.
Speaking on Monday following a visit to Burma, Kurt Campbell, US assistant secretary of state, expressed Washington's "profound disappointment" at the lack of progress there. The junta had ignored proposals for a national dialogue involving all political and ethnic groups and was instead moving ahead unilaterally with its poll plans, he said.
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