More thoughts on US Intervention in Honduras
Yesterday I wondered why the United States was racing to lend their support to a socialist in Honduras who was seeking to ignore the Constitution and the ruling of the nation’s Supreme Court in order to hold onto power. The move showed just how inconsistent Obama’s foreign policy is as they claimed constantly they could not “meddle” in Iranian affairs but did not wait for facts on the ground in Honduras. Additionally it hinted at the administration’s true embrace of socialism and the disregard for the foundation of law.
When I wrote yesterday I said there were still some things we did not know. Today we have some answers. It looks as though the action by the military was done in collusion or possibly at the behest of the Honduran government who voted to oust President Zelaya. We also saw a successor named showing not a military takeover but the succession of the congressional President Roberto Micheletti as mandated under the law.
So in Iran, we have clear evidence not only that the will of the people under the law was denied but are watching the slaughter of those who believe in upholding the nation’s democracy. In Honduras we have the rise of a leader who wished to ignore the foundation of the law and seek an unconstitutional reform to keep himself in power. In response the government, military and potentially most of the nation’s institutions rose up against him. Two clearly different scenarios but two actions where the side of Democracy seems to be clear.
We have seen in the many dictators throughout Latin America what happens when leaders start tossing aside term limits. They hold and consolidate power and refuse to leave. This action harms the people, destroys liberty and has resulted in deteriorating relations with the United States and the decimation of prosperity for the people in those countries.
We now know from a piece in the Wall Street Journal that the Obama administration was actively trying to prevent this coup. From the article:
The Obama administration and members of the Organization of American States had worked for weeks to try to avert any moves to overthrow President Zelaya, said senior U.S. officials. Washington’s ambassador to Honduras, Hugo Llorens, sought to facilitate a dialogue between the president’s office, the Honduran parliament and the military.
We saw the administration immediately side with Zelaya, first with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemning the overthrow and then with the administration saying we would not recognize a new government.
This all makes me wonder, why is the Obama administration meddling in Latin America and what are its goals?
