US Election: Inexperienced Palin Swots Up on Diplomacy With Busy Un Visit

Sarah Palin has thrown herself into a 36-hour crash course in foreign diplomacy as she makes a highly publicized visit to the UN in New York this week in an attempt to shrug off the perception that she is an international affairs ingénue.

The Republican vice-presidential candidate, who obtained a passport to travel outside North America for the first time only last year, is meeting a raft of leaders from several of the world's current hotspots. But her cramming timetable fails to include any scheduled encounter with a major European leader.

Her induction begins tonight with attendance at a cocktail party held by President George Bush at the city's Waldorf-Astoria. The Lebanese president, Michel Suleiman, and other leaders, carefully selected for their goodwill towards America, were on the guest list.

Even before Palin takes her first steps today into the UN's international territory on the East Side of Manhattan, she has walked into controversy. She had been billed to appear at a rally outside the UN building organised by New York Jewish groups protesting at the arrival of the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, at the annual UN general assembly.

But Palin's invitation was withdrawn by organizers following a public spat with Hillary Clinton. The senator for New York had accepted an offer to attend but pulled out saying Palin's late inclusion on the speaker list would have politicized the event.

The New York Sun yesterday published the speech that Palin would have made had she appeared at the rally. In it, she calls for action to thwart Ahmadinejad, who she says should be held accountable under international law for the crime of inciting genocide. "He must be stopped," the speech says.

Since her appointment as John McCain's running mate last month Palin has faced stiff criticism, and even ridicule, for her lack of international experience. Democratic opponents have pointed out she is just one heartbeat away from the presidency should McCain fall ill in office.

The McCain campaign unwittingly fanned the flames by emphasizing that as governor of Alaska she was knowledgeable about neighboring Russia. The theme was picked up in a Saturday Night Live spoof in which Tina Fey has Palin say: "I can see Russia from my house."

Bloggers also went to town after a television interview in which she was flummoxed by a reference to the "Bush doctrine", the argument that pre-emptive strikes against threatening states or terrorist groups can be justified.

The main effort to dispel the impression of naivety will begin today when Palin enters the UN. In meetings that will continue into tomorrow, she will meet leaders from many of the world's most sensitive regions. But according to the list put out by Reuters, there will be no western European leaders among her engagements. It has been confirmed that the British government has neither been approached by the Palin team, nor sought any contact.

The only British minister she could meet casually is Kim Howells, the junior Foreign Office minister, who will attend the Bush cocktail party.

She will meet the presidents of Afghanistan and Iraq, Hamid Karzai and Jalal Talabani, as well as the leader of the main US ally in Latin America, Alvaro Uribe of Colombia. The new Pakistani president, Asif Ali Zardari, is on the list, as is Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh.

There is no seat at the Palin table for China or notably Russia after the conflict in Georgia, though the presidents of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, and Ukraine, Viktor Yushchenko, are included.

Peter Beinart, senior fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, said the cast was unsurprising. "These are all leaders of countries considered friendly to the US. McCain is a more us-versus-them kind of guy than Obama, and you can see that reflected on the list."

The other interesting entry on the list is Henry Kissinger, whom Palin will meet today. The former US secretary of state under Richard Nixon was once highly divisive, but now occupies a lofty position as elder statesman and has been frequently consulted by Bush.

Meet and greet

On Tuesday the Republican vice-presidential candidate will meet the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, and the Colombian president, Alvaro Uribe, and will also enjoy a sit-down with the former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger. On Wednesday she is lined up to meet a string of world leaders, including the Iraqi president, Jalal Talabani. Palin also has scheduled meetings with the Georgian president, Mikheil Saakashvili, the Ukrainian leader, Viktor Yushchenko, the new Pakistani president, Asif Ali Zardari, and the Indian prime minister, Manmohan Singh. She will also meet U2 singer and activist Bono.