US ambassador to Malaysia Christopher J LaFleur talks about Malaysia's involvement in the reconstruction of Iraq, ex-premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad and deputy ex-premier Anwar Ibrahim in this first of a two-part series.

Christopher J LaFleur: It was about four years in Taiwan and quite a bit of time in Japan. Back in Washington though, I was in charge of the office that dealt with Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. My last job in Washington was in the East Asia and Pacific Affairs bureau. I was number two in the bureau and one of the things I was asked to do was to manage US relations with Asean as a group. So in that sense, I've had some opportunities to work with a number of Southeast Asian countries.

You're married to (former Japanese prime minister) Kiichi Miyazawa's daughter. How did that happen?

I don't know. We showed up at the same party - that's all I can tell you. She (Keiko) is a businesswoman ... we just happened to be invited to the same party and we also just happened to be seated right next to each other, and the rest is history, as they say. I have two daughters - the older one (Sarah) is 21, the other (Emma) is 16. One is in the United States, the other is in Japan.