Obama's Continuance of Bush Policies in Latin America is a Serious Mistake

There were great hopes in Latin America when President Obama was elected. U.S. standing in the region had reached a low point under George W. Bush, and all of the hemisphere's left-leaning governments expressed optimism that Obama would go in a different direction.

These hopes have been dashed. President Obama has continued the Bush policies and in some cases has done worse.

The military overthrow of democratically elected President Mel Zelaya of Honduras on June 28 has become a clear example of Obama's failure in the hemisphere. There were signs that something was amiss in Washington from the beginning, when the first statement from the White House failed to even criticize, much less condemn, the coup. It was the only such statement from a government to take a neutral position. The General Assembly of the United Nations and the Organization of American States voted unanimously for "the immediate and unconditional return" of President Zelaya.

Conflicting statements from the White House and State Department emerged over the ensuing days, but last Friday the State Department made clear its "neutrality" as between the dictatorship and the democratically elected president of Honduras. In a letter to Senator Richard Lugar, the State Department said that "our policy and strategy for engagement is not based on supporting any particular politician or individual," and appeared to blame President Zelaya for the coup: "President Zelaya's insistence on undertaking provocative actions contributed to the polarization of Honduran society and led to a confrontation that unleashed the events that led to his removal."

This letter was all over the Honduran media, which is controlled by the coup government and its supporters, and it once again strengthened them politically. Congressional Republicans who have supported the coup immediately claimed victory.

On Monday President Obama repeated his prior statement that Zelaya should return. But by then nobody was fooled.

Obama has said that he "can't push a button and suddenly reinstate Mr. Zelaya." But he hasn't pushed the buttons that he has at his disposal, such as freezing the U.S. assets of the coup government leaders and their supporters, or canceling their visas. (The State Department cancelled five diplomatic visas of members of the coup government, but they can still enter the United States with a normal visa - this gesture had no effect.)

With Clinton associates such as Lanny Davis and Bennett Ratcliff running strategy for the coup government, the Pentagon looking out for its military base in Honduras, and the Republicans ideologically tied to the coup leaders, it should be no surprise that Washington is more worried about protecting its friends in the dictatorship than about such principles as democracy or the rule of law.

But it doesn't make Obama's policy any more justifiable or less disgraceful. And Washington has remained tellingly silent about atrocities and human rights abuses committed by the dictatorship: the killing of at least ten opposition activists, the detention and intimidation of journalists, the closure of independent TV and radio stations, and other repression condemned by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and human rights organizations worldwide.

In addition to its failure in Honduras, the Obama administration drew public statements of concern last week from such leaders as President Lula da Silva of Brazil and Michelle Bachelet of Chile - along with other presidents - with its decision to increase the U.S. military presence at seven bases in Colombia. Washington apparently did not consult with South American governments - other than Colombia -- beforehand. The pretext for the expansion is, as usual, the "war on drugs." But the legislation in Congress that would fund this expansion allows for a much broader role; no wonder South America is suspicious. Obama has also not reversed the Bush administration's decision to reactivate U.S. Navy's Fourth Fleet in the Caribbean, for the first time since 1950 - a decision that raised concerns in Brazil and other countries

President Obama has also continued the Bush administration's trade sanctions against Bolivia, which are seen throughout the region as an affront to Bolivia's national sovereignty. And despite Obama's world-famous handshake with President Chávez, the State Department has maintained about the same level of hostilities toward Venezuela - mostly in the form of public denunciations - as President Bush did in his last year or two.

Obama's policies have drawn mostly only mild rebuke because he is still enjoying somewhat of a honeymoon, and he is not Bush. And the media mostly gives him a free pass. But he is doing serious damage to U.S.-Latin American relations, and to the prospects for democracy and social progress in the region.

This op-ed was published by the New York Times online and the International Herald Tribune on August 12, 2009.

Comments

[EgyptianMysterySchool]

John Perkins, author of NY Times best seller "Confessions Of An Economic Hit Man" - exposes the truth about the Honduran coup...

Honduras Military Coup Engineered By 2 US Companies?
By John Perkins
8-19-9
http://www.rense.com/general87/engin.htm

[Ira7]

I think too many people want Obama to play nice in a not so nice world, and it doesn't work that way.

It would make more than one Latin American leader very happy to see the U.S. harmed at every possible opportunity, and it is the President's job to see that doesn't happen.

You may wish for the world to be different, for human nature to be different, but that ain't happening.

Finally, while many laugh at any concern about the creeping leftist, socialist directions that some Latin American countries are heading--comparing it to the "ridiculous" Red Scare paranoia of the
50s-- history has told that story, and Russia did indeed try to topple country after country into communism, and succeeded doing that with many of them.

This same thing is taking place in Central and South America, and while you may not care...that you WANT to see a Communist world...don't ever dismiss this reality as simple hyperbole, and make fun of those crying the alarm.

Like Honduras.

[sticksnstones]

" Russia ( actually it was the USSR, Ira ) did indeed try to topple country after country into communism, and succeeded doing that with many of them. "

That has absolutely no relevance whatsoever to the political climate in Central and South America which has been leaning to the left and continues to do so. It is a REACTION TO and a choice against the heavy-handed way in which the US has promoted and protected corporate interests in that part of the world and elsewhere on the backs of impoverished nations. Just so you can enjoy a cheap banana on your morning cereal.

[watchTVgetSTUPID]

Monroe Doctrine ia alive and well since 1823.

[watchTVgetSTUPID]

The Monroe Doctrine was established in 1823 to be the Hand Maiden of "Manifest Destiny". Ever since then, unrelenting subjugation, expansion, and assimilation of the land has consumed a multitude of multitudes. In the North, many Indian Nations have disappeared without a trace. In the Center, caretaker governments are tolerated and pruned when they do not take care of their master's vineyard. There too, Manifest Destiny had grasped the Panama Canal and pryed it from Columbia by force and subterfuge. Deafening Silence screams from the missing pages of history. Humanity that has been ripped out of the books ... the School books, University books, Library books, ripped from the conscience of the people, lest they learn and realize their fate. In the South, Care takers who have turned thier backs on their Master, quake in fear, knowing the Master is raising up a new care taker, an obedient care taker willing to allow 5 military bases to be established. The new care taker will be given the oil rich land . The oil will be harvested by the new care taker who will provide it to the Hand Maiden's Corporation.

One President will not change the momentum. One president can not change 200 years of momentum.

[philmelnick]

Either President Obama is frightfully ignorant about Latin America and the blood-stained role of the United States in the region, or he intends to cynically implement a public relations campaign that continues the Clinton/Bush doctrine of interventionism while preaching about democracy and human rights. Fortunately for the peoples of the Americas, the destiny of Mexico, Central, and South America is not dependent on the knowledge or lack thereof of the current President. The winds of freedom---and that includes freedom from the USA---are blowing heavy and strong from Tijuana to Tierra del Fuego. It is disturbing, however, to believe that someone with Obama's heralded intellect cannot appreciate the legitimacy of political and economic systems other than his own. By attacking Hugo Chavez as "authoritarian" without evaluating what the goals of the Bolivarian Revolution really are is the kind of shallow thinking that seems beneath such a scholar as Obama. To condemn President Raul Castro as a "brutal dictator" is not only to ignore the facts, but is pandering to the Cuban exile community at the expense of US geopolitical interests. If and when Obama fulfills his campaign promise to meet with these leaders, he will find that he's not such a big shot south of the border. He'll see more posters of Che and Fidel than he will of himself. Maybe the man who seems enchanted with his own persona will gain the humility a leader requires to be truly great.

[CRUMBOWSKI]

Wow! I am beginning to believe that either:

1.) Obama is perhaps the most DANGEROUS, EFFUSIVE, LIAR ever to take the 'Oath of Office'..These days I EXPLAIN my Vote for obama this way.."I voted FOR CANDIDATE OBAMA..I DID NOT VOTE FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA!" This is NOT a 'cop-out'...for SUCH is the..VOLUME of Broken Promises..­that..even NOW..it seems SURREAL...who could have guessed that he would break..lit­erally..al­most EVERY PROMISE? It wasn't probable...in fact..Obamas LEGACY may be an AXIOM..'The Obama Factor" as in.."don't be fooled..remember Obama!"..

2.) That he was Sworn in..and Immediately upon gaining Top Secret Clearance..as the President.. it was explained to him that Continuity of Government (C.O.G.) was still in effect..and would remain so for the duration of the "War On Terror" aka Permanantly..and he had a choice..either be the one to TELL the America that the Constitution is in fact partially SUSPENDED..and see what happens..(look at the town hall scene for a glimpse of the possibilities) and that ALL 'POLICY' Decisions would go THROUGH the NSC!..and to me..this South America Policy..has General JIM JONES Prints ALL OVER IT!..Oh! BTW..the NSC IS IN CONTROL..and.. WHY IS THAT? isn't that a LITTLE ODD?

Somehting is WRONG..because these are..not just..diversions from a "Promise' but EXTREME CHANGES..180 degree turns..on EVERY 'POLICY' decision..WHY?

[philmelnick]

I think that I'd pick Explanation #2. Although there are significant differences between the Bush and Obama administrations, Mr. Obama is President of the Empire. That includes the CIA, NSC, Army and Navy Intelligence---as well as myriad groups from the Mafia to the AFL-CIO that these agencies employ as needed. Of course, it is unlikely that the President is yet familiar with every nook and cranny of the enormous secret government that operates in tandem with the visible government we all know so well.
Under Obama appearances may change, but the substance will stay the same. If he were to attempt a vast reorganization of the American Empire he would surely suffer a fate as dastardly as did JFK when he recognized the secret government had a far greater reach than his own.