Obama urges direct diplomacy with Latin America

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Obama urges direct diplomacy with Latin America
Posted on Fri, May. 23, 2008
By CHRISTOPHER WILLS
Associated Press Writer

MIAMI -- Democrat Barack Obama says he wants to pursue direct diplomacy with Cuba and Latin America and criticizes Republican rival John McCain for offering the Cuban-American community empty promises.

"After eight years of the disastrous policies of George Bush, it is time to pursue direct diplomacy, with friend and foe alike, without preconditions," Obama told the Cuban American National Foundation on Friday in prepared remarks.

The Illinois senator repeated his willingness if elected president to meet with Cuban leader Raul Castro. But he said a meeting would only occur at a time and place of his choosing and when there is "an opportunity to advance the interests of the United States."





Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/979/story/544603.html

[Hydra]

1. haha

As if Latin America needs us for anything...other than for us to stop killing them.

[harmonicon]

3. that's reason enough for me!

I don't think they "need" us for anything, but it's now becoming clear, as Obama's stance shows, that Latin America is advancing at rapid speed, and if we don't coordinate policy with them, we're going to be left out in the cold in our own hemisphere, replaced by China, Russia, and India as main trading, strategic, and economic partners. I'd also really like for my tax dollars to stop going to death squads.... *sigh* a boy can dream.

[Pavulon]

5. Jokes on you

the us gdp is more than most of latin america's nations COMBINED. We are the man in reds number one customer of oil. ANY correction in the already stupid high price of oil hurts him. Cyclical pattern at work.

The diversified economies like brazil sell lots of stuff here.

US trade is important to latin america.

[hack89]

7. I think Cuba wouldn't mind being able to trade with the US

it would certainly do wonders for their economy.

[Hydra]

10. I doubt Obama is offering that

The Illinois senator repeated his willingness if elected president to meet with Cuban leader Raul Castro. But he said a meeting would only occur at a time and place of his choosing and when there is "an opportunity to advance the interests of the United States."

Cuba might well benefit were we to trade with them again, but I suspect they would just be happy with not having us over their shoulder all the time.

[Judi Lynn]

13. You'd think they're just about tired of it, by now. What a shame. n/t

[Judi Lynn]

8. They DO need a break from U.S. intervention, covert, overt ops, butting in,

and an end to the filthy, monstrous slaughter going on there since decades ago.

They CAN LIVE without it!

[Peace Patriot]

14. My sentiments exactly. Thank you, Hydra! For the wordier versions of my

thoughts on this speech, see the other thread...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x6091431

[Honeycombe8]

17. Cuba needs our business. Their citizens are suffering as a result of our trade embargo. nt

[ckramer]

2. Americans just need to learn how to live within their means

War will never happen if that's the case.

[Judi Lynn]

4. Obama: Cuba policy to be based on 'libertad'

updated 1 minute ago
Obama: Cuba policy to be based on 'libertad'

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Sen. Barack Obama told Florida's Cuban American community Friday that his Cuba policy would be based on "libertad" and freedom for the island nation's people.

"The road to freedom for all Cubans must begin with justice for Cuba's political prisoners, the right of free speech, a free press, freedom of assembly, and it must lead to elections that are free and fair," Obama said. "That is my commitment."

"I won't stand for this injustice; you will not stand for this injustice, and together we will stand up for freedom in Cuba. That will be my commitment as president of the United States of America," the front-runner in the Democratic presidential race said during an address in to a Cuban American group in Miami, Florida.

Obama also said the policy for Cuba and the rest of Latin America would be guided by "the simple principle that what's good for the people of the Americas, is good for the United States."

"After eight years of the failed policies of the past, we need new leadership for the future," he said. "After decades of pressing for top-down reform, we need an agenda that advances democracy, security and opportunity from the bottom up."

More:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/23/obama.cuban.americans/

[High Plains]

9. I wish Obama was as concerned about America's social prisoners

as he is about Cuba's political prisoners. I think Cuba has a couple of dozen political prisoners; we have 500,000 people behind bars for drug charges alone. Now, tell me again about libertad, Obama.

[Judi Lynn]

11. Don't forget Don Siegelman! Now there's a political prisoner if we ever saw one!

And, speaking of social prisoners, what about all the people tried, found guilty, placed on Death Row, who are being cleared these days by DNA tests?

What WAS their crime? Not being able to afford a good lawyer!

Many of Cuba's "political prisoners" would be in prison right here, if they had done the same things, while taking money from Cuba, or Cuban terrorist groups! It's against the law in BOTH countries, a point our own right-wing media ALWAYS conceals.

[Peace Patriot]

15. And the tortured prisoners in Guantanamo Bay!

I think our Gulag on the other end of the island of Cuba needs liberation a lot more than Cuba does.

My fantasy is we give Guantanamo Bay to the prisoners, and invite Cuban doctors and architects in, to turn it into a place of healing--and get the fuck off their island and get the 4th Fleet the fuck out of the Caribbean and away from the coast of Venezuela.

[Popol Vuh]

22. The face most people have never seen

I like to hear both sides of a story before passing judgment. I think if more knew what this video documents, I think there'd be a different attitude toward Cuba.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1427963647497121906

[ckramer]

6. Obama can do lots of good things for America and the world!

I hope he gets 8 years to accomplish all his goals.

[DavidDvorkin]

12. That damned appeaser! What the Hell's the matter with him?

You can't negotiate with LatAmoFascists!

Withdrawing our forces from Latin America now would mean that all the lives that were taken by our surrogates were lost in vain!

[NashVegas]

21. Which Fascists Are You Referring To?

[NashVegas]

16. Here's What They Said on Zmag

As progressives in the United States are riding a wave of excitement about Democratic hopeful Barack Obama and his promise of change, the people of Latin America have much less to be excited about. In fact, given some of his recent comments, Latin America might expect an even more aggressive policy from Barack Obama than what they saw under the Bush administration.

...
In fact, if the comments of his senior foreign policy advisor Samantha Power are any indication, it's not a hopeful picture. Power, a strong supporter of the 1999 US bombing of Serbia, referred to Chavez's domestic policies as "very problematic" in a recent interview, and implied that Obama would be looking for a change in Venezuelan policies.


"If...Chavez continues to deviate from what Obama thinks are international norms that should be adhered to domestically, then that's a problem," said Power. <8>

Power went on to say that the Obama administration would focus on "what Chavez does badly from the standpoint of the Venezuelan people." This begs the obvious question: isn't it the job of the Venezuelan people to decide that?
...

He has called for the creation of a new "alliance for progress," alluding to the original John F. Kennedy policy to thwart social revolution in Latin America and safeguard US interests and dominance. And despite his occasional criticisms of NAFTA (recently revealed as merely "political positioning"), Obama has also suggested that there will be little change in Washington's push for free trade, a doctrine that has been widely rejected by most Latin American nations.

http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/16946

I hope liberals will wake up and realize that corporations are happy with Obama because they expect him to get out in front of liberal causes and subvert them to areas more to Wall. St's liking.

[Dark]

18. Yes yes yes. Both parties are two sides of the same coin. They're all the same

The position of people too intellectually lazy to examine the issues.

[Aptastik]

19. That's a rash overgeneralization of the point being made here

Any student of U.S. - Latin American relations would know that the party of the president in power here did not affect our foreign policy down there in any significant way. EVEN IF our government, through the CIA and black ops funding of death squads along with the SOA, or whatever it's called these days, stopped supporting right-wing militant dictatorships, bent on getting rich while destroying their populations and populations for the avarice of U.S. corporations...those corporations would still continue enforcing those policies, especially private corporations such as Bechtel, which do not have to answer to stockholders, and more importantly the SEC. (Bechtel, you might remember, was the company which bought the rights to Bolivia's public water system, inflated prices 400%, and then prohibited citizens from collecting RAIN WATER to hydrate themselves. They were eventually run out of the country with pitchforks.)

I'm an Obama supporter, and a loyal Democrat, who winces when people claim "there's no difference between the parties". As a campaign worker, I work often to dispel that myth amongst much of the activist Left. However, to SERIOUSLY believe that Obama would change the awful situation of exploitation and corruption by American corporations in Latin America is ignorance at its most dangerous.

Change must come from a large grassroots movement by the people within this country. Unfortunately, they remain ignorant due to the almost non-existent media coverage of events down there. When there is media coverage, it is overtly biased. They find it more advantageous to refer to Chavez as a "terrorist" and "communist" rather than a powerful and charismatic leader who's just trying to keep the profits of their massive petroleum reserves IN his country, rather than the coffers of foreign corporations. Even some on here fall for this media manipulation.

[NashVegas]

20. Bechtel Was Run Out of Town By a Peasant Rebellion

Bechtel, a global engineering and construction company based in San Francisco, today reached agreement with the government of Bolivia, dropping a legal demand for $50 million after a revolt over privatizing water services in the city of Cochabamba forced the company out of Bolivia in April 2000.

...

On April 10, 2000, the concession was terminated because of the civil unrest, giving rise to a dispute between Bolivia and Aguas del Tunari.


Wouldn't it be funny if it turned out that Morales, Lula, Chavez, Castro, and other SA populists had a better crack of leading their countries, unhindered, under a Republican Bush / Cheney US administration than a Dem?

http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=13144