Obama vs. Clinton on Honduras?

Apparent differences between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are threatening to confuse American policy towards the coup in Honduras.

The differences seem to go back to the 2008 presidential primaries when Obama embraced a broad new direct diplomacy while Clinton hewed to a tougher traditional stance. Clinton era advisers like James Carville and Stanley Greenberg had gone on to become political consultants for Latin American presidential candidates favoring free trade policies in Venezuela, Bolivia, Mexico, and Argentina, as depicted in the documentary film "Our Brand Is Crisis."

Now Obama, fresh from a hemispheric summit in Trinidad, is trying to collaborate with the Organization of American States [OAS] in its unified pressure and isolation against the coup leaders in Honduras. The newly-appointed "foreign minister" of the coup-based regime has called Obama "that little black guy who doesn't even know where Tegucigalpa is located." [NYT, July 12] So much for the character of the coup plotters.

Secretary Clinton, while formally supporting the Obama/OAS initiative, has questionable links with the coup leaders through two close associates. First, her pugnacious media spokesman from campaign days, Lanny Davis, is the paid spinner and lobbyist for the Latin American equivalent of the Chamber of Commerce, the alliance supporting h leader Robert Micheletti. One of Davis' first moves so far was to announce that "foreign minister" Enrique Ortez had been removed from office for calling Obama an ignorant "little black guy." Otherwise, Davis is a launching a full-court press to change Obama's policy in Honduras from rejecting the coup as illegitimate to one of open-ended talks that could last indefinitely, allowing the coup to consolidate.

At the same time, another close Clinton ally, Bennett Ratcliff, was appointed -- along with his interpreter -- as an actual member of the negotiating team for the coup in current talks being held in Costa Rica. According to a source cited by the New York Times, "Every proposal that Micheletti's group presented was written or approved by the American." [July 12]. Who, one wonders, does Bennett report to? He comes from the high-powered consulting firm of recently-deceased Bob Squier.

Obama cannot long support both the OAS efforts at isolating the coup plotters and also tolerate Clinton-identified political consultants lobbying on behalf of the military-installed regime.

Even the Clinton-chosen mediator of the talks, Costa Rican president Oscar Arias, told the US that Honduran elections scheduled for November will be illegitimate if sponsored by the coup organizers. [NYT, July 12]

Obama could recall the American ambassador to Honduras. In addition to suspending $18.5 million in US military assistance, Obama can disallow the $180 million presently in the pipeline. Spending that money is arguably illegal under the 1997 Leahy amendment to prohibit assistance to a military which overthrows an democratically-elected government, as Honduran forces did on June 29.

The background narrative here is the rise of an irrational Cold War mentality, echoed by the mainstream media, in response to the surge of independent nationalism in Latin America. Anyone who has spent time in Honduras knows it is desperately poor, lacks a social safety net, and is dominated by an extremely repressive military trained and supported by the United States. But the Beltway and the Pentagon detect a threat in the Honduran government's alliance on certain issues with Venezuela. The specific threat is that President Zelaya wanted a popular referendum this week on whether Honduran voters wished to vote on a constitutional assembly, which could lead, in the future, to a voter-mandated revision of term limits on the presidency. Thus the coup.

If the US fear of new bogeymen seems overdone, one must ponder Clinton's other gaffe of the week, this one exposed by Washington Post reporters. Our well-briefed and highest foreign policy official actually declared that Iran was building a monster embassy in Nicaragua, "and you can only imagine what that's for." This flap was about an embassy, not about a military base. But the embassy allegation wasn't even true. One wonders how old cronies might have misled Clinton into this fantasy projection. The largest embassy in Nicaragua continues to be the American one. [Washington Post, July 13.]

Comments

[Bradmeister007]

Mr. Hayden conveniently fails to mention that the Honduran Supreme Court explicitly ruled that the referendum Zelaya sought was a violation of the Honduran Constitution and should not be allowed to proceed. Yet Zelaya, acting as if he were above the law, went ahead with plans for the referendum in direct defiance of both the Supreme Court and the Honduran Congress. The coup was, thus, a consequence of Zelaya's brazen disregard for the rule of law. As even Richard Nixon ultimately conceded, when the Supreme Court of your country instructs you to act in accordance with an unequivocal ruling, you must comply. (See United States v. Nixon).

[apduncan1]

BS ... the Honduran Constitution doesn't call for a coup d'etat because a president calls for a non-binding plebiscite.

Keep on spinning ... you'll get dizzy.

[Bradmeister007]

So are you saying that when the Supreme Court of Honduras explicitly tells its president he must comply with the law of the land, that it's OK for him to simply flout the law with no consequences? If the referendum was so innocuous – as you erroneously imply – why did Zelaya insist on defying his own Supreme Court? Let's not be naive here. It is evident that this referendum was part and parcel of an illegal effort by Zelaya to extend his presidency beyond the term sanctioned by Honduran law. The fact that the Honduran military saw fit to enforce the ruling of the Honduran Supreme Court should not be cause for condemnation. Let's not forget that the Honduran military installed the person who was constitutionally next in line as president. This was not – in any way shape or form – a military junta.

[ElkoJohn]

surely the Prez is aware of the Secretary's actions/intentions
perhaps he's trying to play it both ways -- like the good politician that he is.

[partyofone]

Or maybe Hillary is posturig for 2012.