Haiti: The more I hear about the coup in Haiti and the Bush Administration's actions in regard to it, the less I like it. Billmon is following the story, including the role of the odious Otto Reich.
Venezuela: La Opinion (USA) reports on the defiant stance Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez took this weekend in the face of an opposition recall campaign. (Regime change by recall ... this sounds oddly familiar): Tensión persiste en Venezuela 03/01/04.
Chávez declared, "Venezeula is not Haiti and Chávez is not Aristide, I'm not going to leave the government, I have the Constitution in my hand." He charged that Bush is backing the Venezuelan opposition. He threatened that if the US continues to interfere in Venezuela's internal affairs, they will cut off oil supplies to the US. "If this happens, they say that the oil tankers will boycott us; but if that happens, we will boycott their facilities in Venezuela."
Is Chávez's charge of American involvement in the attempt at regime change just a politician's Yankee-bashing bombast? James Galbraith (American Prospect online 12/17/02) on the effort to oust Chavez at the end of 2002:
Clearly the United States is involved. A Uruguayan politician blew the whistle on a request for help from the administration in support of a coup. In a desperate move, Bush issued a public statement on Dec. 13 calling for early elections. But why? Unlike Bush himself, Chavez was elected. There is no reason for him to step down other than the intransigent opposition of the Venezuelan upper classes. The "rebellion of the spoiled brats," they are calling it. Canada quickly distanced itself from Bush's statement.
2 comments:
thank you, bruce, for these links. i have many haitian students, and am trying to keep up with this. i've just begun to realize that we may not be hearing the whole story in the US media. duh. why should i be surprised. i don't have time right now, but i'm going to go to the whiskey bar and read up on what billmon has to say after my morning classes. i knew the info was out there on the internet somewhere, just haven't had time to go looking. you are a national treasure.
Thanks for the compliments, Marigolds. Of course, "national treasure" is what Bush calls Rush Limbaugh. So are you saying I sound like a dope fiend? :) :) (Just kidding, of course!) And thanks for your comments. - Bruce
Post a Comment