Guest contributor
James Shwe
WASHINGTON D.C.—A high-profile hearing in the U.S. Congress this week delivered a powerful and unified message that was starkly at odds with its fatalistic title, “No Exit Strategy: Burma’s Endless Crisis and America’s Limited Options.”
Expert testimony and pointed questions from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle revealed a clear bipartisan consensus: the United States has not run out of options in Myanmar; it has simply failed to use them.
What has been presented by some as a “limited” set of choices is, in fact, a crisis of political will. The hearing systematically dismantled the arguments for inaction and laid out an urgent mandate for a new, robust U.S. strategy—one based on pressure, not accommodation.
The most critical moment came in the thorough debunking of a dangerous pro-junta narrative: the idea that the Myanmar military can be “peeled away” from China through U.S. engagement.
This flawed premise, often advanced by the junta’s lobbyists in Washington, was exposed as a bankrupt strategy. Steve Ross of the Stimson Center argued that an entity the U.S. has formally accused of genocide, that profits from global criminal enterprises, and that deliberately bombs schools and hospitals is not a rational state actor that can be leveraged. It is a criminal enterprise focused solely on its own survival.
The hearing produced a unified and scathing indictment of this criminality. Lawmakers and witnesses alike condemned the junta’s systematic atrocities and its transformation of Myanmar into a global hub for cybercrime that directly threatens American citizens.
There was also unanimous rejection of the junta’s upcoming phased elections as a fraudulent attempt to launder its image. As Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Kelley Currie stated plainly, “we must refuse to recognize the elections.”
Having dismissed the argument for engagement, the committee coalesced around a clear mandate for a revitalized U.S. strategy based on four key pillars:
- Starve the Junta’s War Machine: The most urgent priority is to cut off the junta’s financial lifelines. Subcommittee Chairman Bill Huizenga forcefully drove this point, specifically calling for sanctions against the Myanma Economic Bank (MEB) and the Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE). The consensus was clear: the time for half-measures on sanctions is over.
- Appoint a Leader to Execute Strategy: There was unanimous agreement on the need for a high-level Special Representative and Policy Coordinator for Myanmar. This position is seen as essential to cut through the bureaucratic inertia that has plagued U.S. policy and to end the over-reliance on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) failed Five-Point Consensus.
- Empower the Democratic Resistance: A strong consensus emerged that the U.S. must fully implement the BURMA Act and provide robust non-lethal support directly to the National Unity Government (NUG), Ethnic Resistance Organizations (EROs), and the broader Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM). This includes technical assistance for governance and communications technology to help them secure and administer liberated territories.
- Confront the Direct Threat to Americans: The hearing solidified the understanding that the criminal cyber scam centers flourishing under the junta are not a distant problem but a direct national security threat. As Ambassador Currie noted, this is a “$35 billion USD a year global industry” with deep links to money laundering and Mexican drug cartels.
Finally, the powerful testimony of Rohingya activist Lucky Karim grounded the entire policy debate in its devastating human cost. Her account of genocidal violence and the dire conditions in refugee camps, exacerbated by cuts in U.S. aid, served as a powerful call to conscience.
The hearing’s ultimate takeaway is that the “limited options” in its title is a false premise. The options are there, and they are clear. By rejecting the dangerous narrative of engagement and embracing a strategy of decisive pressure, Congress has provided a clear mandate for the administration to finally lead. The question is no longer whether the U.S. can act, but whether it will.
James Shwe is a Myanmar democracy activist in the U.S. and is a member of the advocacy groups Free Myanmar and the Los Angeles Myanmar Movement. He has been trying to organize and motivate the Myanmar diaspora to advocate for democracy in Myanmar.
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