Diary
Obama and the dictators
1 July, 2009
In a perceptive blog on the Telegraph website today, Nile Gardiner asks why Obama appears to be siding with dictators. Here is what he says:
‘It took Barack Obama 10 days to speak out clearly against the savage beatings and killings meted out by the Iranian regime on the streets of Tehran. It was just a matter of hours however before the Obama administration was loudly voicing its condemnation of the bloodless removal from power of populist dictator Manuel Zelaya in Honduras.’
What happened in Honduras is that Zelaya, who was elected months earlier, sought a referendum (against the wishes of Congress and the Supreme Court) which would have given him effective dictatorial powers. The army, fearing the rise of yet another populist leader in Latin America, removed him without bloodshed and installed a new leader who promised to respect the country’s democratic constitution. Yet the near universal response was an inexplicable clamour for Zelaya’s reinstatement. The loudest pro Zelaya voice could be heard in the White House.
By supporting the ousted leader President Obama has, in Gardiner’s words, ‘joined the odious likes of Hugo Chavez, Daniel Ortega and Fidel Castro in calling for Zelaya to be reinstated…Instead of siding with pro-American forces in Honduras who actually believe in constitutional democracy, Obama and his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton aligned themselves with America-haters like Chavez, Latin America’s biggest despot, and close ally of Iran.’
It took Obama more than a week to offer a robust response to the bloodshed in Tehran. He should have applauded the valiant march for freedom in Iran from day 1 and condemned Tehran’s dictators for the freedom denying, Jew hating Islamists they are. He badly misread the coup in Honduras which was about confronting a would be leftist dictator (in democracy’s guise) who wished to emulate the success of his Venezuelan ally. He should have welcomed a chance to restore genuine democracy in Latin America instead of demanding Zelaya’s return.
America’s 44th President, the ‘leader of the free world,’ appears to value stability and realpolitik over supporting the genuine voice of freedom around the world. He pays lip service to American values but he remains haunted by Bush, the leader who believed in promoting these values pro-actively, especially in regions blighted by tyranny and authoritarian government.
So when it comes to promoting freedom and American interests around the world, give me Bush and the neo cons (for all their flaws) over Obama any day of the week. He is simply on the wrong side of history.
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