Concern about leftist victories in Latin America has prompted President Bush to quietly grant a waiver that allows the United States to resume training militaries from 11 Latin American and Caribbean countries.They need to review this program carefully before the Cheney-Bush administration uses this new initiative to start wars, promote coups or open new stations of the torture gulag.
The administration hopes the training will forge links with countries in the region and blunt a leftward trend. Daniel Ortega, a nemesis of the United States in the region during the 1980s, was elected president in Nicaragua this week. Bolivians chose another leftist, Evo Morales, last year.
With an administration that has been eager to employ figures from the anti-Nicaragua *contra* secret war and the related Iran-Contra scandal during the Reagan administration, like John Negroponte and Elliott Abrams, we have good reason to worry that this newly-announced program could be used as cover for some bad stuff.
Besides, how many of this administration's foreign policy initiatives have had good results so far?
The claim that this is in response to "leftist" governments coming to power - via democratic elections - reminds us once again that for this administration, "democracy" means doing what Cheney and Bush want you to.
Military training programs aren't bad in themselves. The reason that this administration had banned it in many Latin American countries was one of their highest foreign policy priorities: getting countries to agree that they would never turn any American over the International Criminal Court.
The fact that they are dropping the ban now without getting agreement over the ICC issue means that they must have some fairly highly-priority business in mind.
Congress is supposed to provide oversight. This is something they need to be overseeing.
Music I'm listening to: Shakira Mebarak, "Ciega, Sordomuda"
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