[News] Latin America rejects Bush Doctrine

[Anti-Imperialist News]

Latin America rejects Bush Doctrine

http://www.zcommunications.org/znet/viewArticle/16901
March 18, 2008 By Federico Fuentes


(Caracas, 14 March 2008) Reeling from the blow 
that it received in the aftermath of the 
Colombian military's illegal incursion on March 1 
into Ecuador ­ which resulted in the brutal 
massacre of a number of civilians and members of 
the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia 
(FARC), including its chief negotiator Raul Reyes 
­ US imperialism has once again raised the ante 
in its struggle to undermine the growing process of Latin American integration.

Venezuela's Bolivarian revolution, led by 
President Hugo Chavez whose government is 
spearheading the push to unite Latin American 
nations to counter US domination, is being specifically targeted.

"The region is facing an increasingly stark 
choice: to quietly accept the vision of the 
terrorists and the demagogues, or to actively 
support democratic leaders", US President George 
Bush stated on March 12. Bush said his government 
was studying whether or not Venezuela should be 
added to its list of countries that "sponsor terrorism".

In Washington's Orwellian world view ­ where war 
is peace and elected leaders are dictators ­ his 
comments were aimed at Venezuela's 
democratically-elected government that is 
offering its services to assist with a negotiated 
peaceful solution to Colombia's more than four decade-long civil war.

Venezuela's representative in the Organization of 
American States (OAS), Jorge Valero, hit back 
that same day, calling the US government "the 
terrorist government par excellence".

Valero argued it was "an absolutely stupid thing 
to say from the government of Mr Bush 
 that 
practices state terrorism, that has invaded Iraq 
and Afghanistan without respect for international 
law, that commits genocidal practices in various 
parts of the world, that has invaded Latin American and Caribbean countries 
"

Having viewed Latin America as its own backyard 
for decades, Washington is becoming increasingly 
concerned about developments south of its border. 
Its biggest headache is Venezuela, whose 
government has been making important headway in 
bring together governments of Latin America, as 
well as undermining capitalism inside Venezuela.

Washington has waged a constant public campaign 
(similar to its campaign against Iraq before the 
invasion) attempting to link Venezuela with 
narcotrafficking, terrorism, promoting an arms 
race, money laundering and threats to regional security.

US-Venezuelan lawyer Eva Golinger argued on the 
Venezuelan TV show La Hojilla that this campaign 
is aimed at containing Chavez's influence and 
undermining Latin American integration ­ a 
process aided by the election of a number of 
governments that, to varying degrees, have proven 
willing to exercise independence from Washington 
and pursue closer regional collaboration.

For Dario Azzellini, author of several books 
about US military intervention into the region, 
Colombia's illegal cross-border attack (publicly 
supported by the US government, which funds and 
arms the Colombian military) was the first step 
in carrying out more serious military infractions 
across its border in order to provoke a response 
from Venezuela and lay the blame for the subsequent conflict at their feet.

"Their aim is to create massive destabilisation 
in a region where Colombia would play a similar 
role to that of Israel in the Middle East", Azzellini told Green Left Weekly.

"The Colombian government said that they had the 
coordinates of Reyes whereabouts for month, 
during which we can suppose that he moved between 
Colombian, Venezuelan and Ecuadorian territory as 
part of the current negotiations by the FARC in 
releasing prisoners. So the question is why did 
they choose to carry it out in Ecuador?

"It was a test, they wanted to do it in 
Ecuadorian territory and not in Venezuela to see 
what the international reaction would be."

Luis Bilbao, director of Latin American magazine 
America XXI, told GLW US imperialism had two aims 
in mind with Colombia's attack (which was clearly 
coordinated with the US) ­ put a halt to the 
hopes for humanitarian accord with the FARC, who 
only days before had released four prisoners 
unilaterally, and sabotage the growing South American convergence.

Finding a political solution to Colombia's 
current conflict is a danger to Washington, which 
has used it as justification to build up their 
military presence in Colombia. This is why the 
issue of peace in Colombia is so closely 
intertwined with the process of Latin American integration.

Colombia's attack came just days before global 
protests in favour of a peaceful solution to 
Colombia's civil war and against state and 
paramilitary violence, which targets political 
activists, with more trade unionists killed in 
Colombia every year than any other country. On 
March 6, hundreds of thousands marched across 
Colombia, defying threats of reprisals from paramilitaries.

Associated Press reported on March 14 that six 
organisers of the march had been murdered, and 
two dozen more received death threats from the Black Eagles death squad.

Moreover, Bilbao pointed out that in the 
immediate aftermath of this event, it seemed 
unthinkable that the meeting of the South 
American Community of Nations (Unasur, formed in 
April 2002 with the aim of creating a European 
Union-style body across South America) that had 
been scheduled to take place in Colombia at the 
end of the month could have gone ahead.

Such a turn of events would suit Washington, as 
the development of Unasur threatens the ability 
of the US to exert its control over the region on 
behalf of US corporate interests.

Bilbao argued that the action was nonetheless a 
big mistake on the part of Colombia. Bilbao 
argued that "they didn't attack Venezuela", as 
Venezuelan foreign minister Nicolas Maduro had 
stated Venezuela expected, "because of the firm 
stance that Venezuela has taken and instead 
attacked Ecuador expecting a timid response 
 
setting a precedent for further repeat actions in 
Ecuador and to extend this to Venezuela".

However the firm stance by both Ecuador and 
Venezuela ­ both of whose governments broke 
diplomatic ties and moved troops to their 
Colombian borders ­ put Colombia on the back foot.

In fact, rather than reverse the trend towards 
integration, the response to Colombia's attack 
could mark an important regional realignment ­ 
assisting the process of regional integration.

The most significant event was the summit of the 
Group of Rio held on March 6 and 7. Televised 
live across the whole continent, representatives 
of all Latin American governments debated the 
issue without the presence of the US government.

After a fiery debate, the meeting came to a 
unanimous decision to reject the actions of the 
Colombian government and any further violation of 
the sovereignty of another country. Crucially, 
the vote was a rejection of the doctrine of 
"preventive war" that the US has pushed since the 
September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Ecuador and Colombia are pushing for the March 17 
meeting of the OAS (of which the US is a member) 
to ratify the Group of Rio's motion. Ecuadorian 
President Rafael Correa has stated bluntly that 
if the OAS meeting did not condemn the 
aggression, that it should be thrown "in the dustbin of history".

Arguing that it would be "difficult for the US 
government to oppose such a resolution", Valero 
asserted that "I don't believe the United States 
has sufficient strength to crush the will of the Rio Group countries".





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