Obama Likely to Tread Carefully With Uribe

Wash Post ^ | 6/30/09 | Mike Shear

[pissant]

President Obama meets with Colombian president Álvaro Uribe this afternoon as his administration monitors the repercussions of the military coup in Honduras and the impact on its Latin American neighbors.

Aides had said last week that the Oval Office meeting would focus on efforts to shut down the drug trade and the stalled Colombian-U.S. free trade agreemeent. But the world's attention shifted over the weekend to Honduras, where the region's first military coup in more than a decade ended with the ouster of President Manuel Zelaya during a dawn raid of the presidential palace in the capital of Tegucigalpa.

In addition, Obama seems inclined to strike a tougher tone on human rights with Colombia than did his predecessor, George W. Bush, as he tries to expand the White House's alliances with more left-leaning governments in Latin America.

Obama said during the campaign that he supported the trade agreement, but that Colombia needed to take action to end human rights violations taken against labor leaders and others before the agreement could be ratified. Conservatives in the U.S. are pushing for ratification of the agreement, while Obama's liberal allies remain skeptical.

[pissant]

Obama craps on our staunch ally Colombia, while embracing every marxist scumbag across central and S. America.

[cripplecreek]

I’m thinking this is going to get very interesting before its over.

[pissant]

Let’s work to get rid of our marxist fraud ASAP as well.

[RobbyS]

Blind eye to what Chavez is doing in Venezuela.

[penelopesire]

It is getting ridiculous! How long until Americans wake up?!!

[MattinNJ]

Columbia and Honduras are being served up on a silver platter. Interesting to see if it will impact the vote the way Elian Gonzalez tipped Florida to Dubya in 2000. No Elian, no Dubya.

[popdonnelly]

Will Uribe get the evil eye?

[Seven plus One]

...but that Colombia needed to take action to end human rights violations taken against labor leaders and others...

Jimmy Carter's theme in the 70's was 'human rights', in a vague, difficult to define manner. Resistance to communism was a violation, as long as the communists were not yet in control. They could murder and pillage at will, but if any civil authority said "ENOUGH", and fought back, their 'human rights record' would call their legitimacy into question. Back then it was the Russkies and their clients who were on the move, pushing communism in Latin America, while the democrats looked the other way. Carter eventually went home, and the USSR went away, but the commies never left. If we are the big cheese supporting totalitarian subversion in this hemisphere, then what hope is there for freedom anywhere?