Looks like the Obama administration has been given an opportunity to extract itself from the mess their mouths got them into regarding Honduras. Very timely too with elections in their country within weeks.
Honduras' interim president has allowed the ousted Zelaya's case to be presented to the Honduran Supreme Court for review over reinstatement as president. There is to be a truth commission and some form of power sharing government IF the Honduran Supreme Court allows a reinstatement. The US in return, ends it's pointless economic/political sanctions and recognizes Honduras has a right to run elections this month.
The Administration can claim victory with a sigh of relief knowing full well that it was in a corner the Hondurans had to help them out of. The Hondurans still have not given Zelaya any legal immunity. Thus he could stand trial if the Court does not reverse its stand on his case and their Congress decides he should. Given both bodies stance under US/OAS pressure for some months now, a good bet is he'll take up residence safely in Venezuela where he can agitate safely. Even if he gets reinstated, a hostile congress will prevent him from doing much at all.
Both the US and OAS covered themselves in less than glory, especially the US and Brazil. Just days after staking a position the US shouldn't be involved with other countries internal affairs, we jumped onto the Honduras exiling of their president. Brazil allowing Zelaya to call for protests from the protection of their embassy was borderline an act of war and definitely a violation of diplomatic immunity. Honduras has officially protested to the World Court over the matter with Brazil.
It's interesting to see the different take on the settling of the issue by various media.
Christian Science Monitor
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/1030/p06s01-woam.html
Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703399204574505541545624488.html?mod=djemEditorialPage
Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/la-fg-honduras31-2009oct31,0,5734027.story?track=rss
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Comments: 15
The real question is why are our President and Secretary of State backing Zelaya and his friend Hugo Chavez instead of the duly elected and constitutional government. No one has been willing to ask them that question as far as I can tell.
The media amnesia about the President continues.
He sneaks back into his country after playing comic opera revolutionary, hides in a foreign embassy under protection of it's flag while agitating for a revolution that almost no one pays attention to and he's somehwo right?
Yeah Joe, my fantasies are paranoid and on line with global dominion. I wasn't the one who declared a national policy to (finally) stay out of other country's business then forgot it when the country in question was small enough to bully. Nor am I am one of those guys who says sanctions against Cuba/Iran hurt their people and are wrong but sanctions against Honduras then somehow ok.
You need some new sources of information.
This is news to me. My actual concern is I'm just tired of "my" government backing military non elected governments be they rightist or leftist (not that backing leftist was a thing it would do at all).
That is my point about the Administration, I thought we weren't going to get into other country's business anymore but then we did anyway. Kind of invalidated what I hoped would be a new policy
Well it is also what he supports, and who he supports.
It sounds a lot like they (Honduras) is throwing us a bone to make us happy. Well anyhow Herr Obama's team.
~~Martin Luther King, Jr.
Time will tell... but so far, I don't think I'd give our president a passing grade.