The U.S., in an apparent reversal of its support for ousted Honduran leftist President Manuel Zelaya, won't impose economic sanctions on that country, but has yet to decide whether Zelaya's removal from office constitutes a coup or a legitimate and constitutional act.
In the usual “carrot and the stick” undefined diplomacy of “good cop vs. bad cop,” the U.S. has stated that it "energetically" opposes Manuel Zelaya's June 28 ouster, but also expressed the harshest criticism yet of Zelaya's own actions that preceded his removal from office, including his ploy to change the Honduran constitution to perpetuate his stay in power.
Always playing both ends against the middle, Richard Verma, U.S. assistant secretary for legislative affairs later stated, "We energetically condemn the actions of June 28th, but we also recognize that 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."
Mr. Verma went on to say that U.S. policy wasn't aimed at supporting one person in particular (an obvious reference to the ousted ALBA president, Manuel Zelaya) but to supporting the Honduran people's aspirations for democracy.
With Obama's amazing about face, he is now unwilling to join the socialist lynch mob condemning and futher isolating Honduras, which makes it increasingly unlikely that the leftist Manuel Zelaya will return to his deposed presidential seat. the Honduran interim government, backed by much of the country's establishment and middle class, clearly rejects having the socialist Manuel Zelaya back, and Washington now seems in no mood to force the issue any further.
It's pretty clear that President Obama has been made to realize by the foreign affairs committee that he was being played for a fool by the Castro brothers and by the blusterous and outspoken enemy of democracy, Hugo Chavez. These new developments in U.S. policy have Chavez fuming and the leftist confused and up in arms. The left realizes that the tide is turning against them, and they will do everything in their power so this precedent will not stand.
One possible scenario could be a Chavez staged blood bath by die hard Zelaya supporters in Honduras. Although due to Obama's back peddling and the recent change in U.S. foreign policy, the other ALBA leaders might not be in the mood to support this type of action that could have the adverse effect of drawing attention to their own vulnerable socialist rule.
In Honduras and the Americas, Washington's wavering will be seen as a sign that the interim government can wait it out until the elections and that the costs they are bearing for international isolation, while considerable, are preferable to the risks of allowing Zelaya to return, even for a limited time and with his authority curtailed. Apparently the Honduran demand for self determination has finally hit home with Barack Obama.
A State Department spokesman, attempting to play political smoking mirrors said, “there has been no decision to soften the U.S. policy on Honduras," and added that the administration still supports a return of the ousted Manuel Zelaya to power, as called for in the mediation plan by Costa Rica's President Oscar Arias. Albeit, the Supreme Court of Honduras has ruled that Mr. Zelaya's return as president would be illegal. Obviously Washington is not going to simply leave Oscar Arias out on a limb and let him lose face. Besides, everyone knows that time heals.
The Obama administration is obviously staking out an undefined middle ground, sending a message to Latin America that coups are unacceptable while not giving too much support to the leftist Manuel Zelaya, whose close relationship to Venezuela's populist de facto dictator Hugo Chávez and the Castro brothers in Cuba has raised hackles among U.S. Republicans. Elected as a centrist, Zelaya took a sharp left turn in the past two years joining Hugo Chavez’s leftist ALBA Alliance and becoming an outspoken acolyte for Chavez and the 50 year old Castro dynasty.
In another bit of good news, the Obama administration's planned confirmation hearings for the leftist, Arturo Valenzuela, to become assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs has been put on hold. These sudden changing political scenarios evidence the tittering hegemony and balance of power that is currently being played out between the socialist forces and the pro U.S. democratic nations in Latin America.
With all this flip flopping going on, one can wonder if President Obama was simply naive, or that his campaign for "change" was actually his vision of a new socialist dominated world.
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