The other significant election (evolution, America)

[doppelgänger]

Lost in the shuffle of the U.S. midterms is the story of the Nicaraguan elections that took place on November 5. The socialist Sandanista party under Daniel Ortega regained control of the national government.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationwo...news-headlines

Ortega and his Sandanistas originally came to power by overthrowng the U.S.-backed totalitarian regime of the Somoza family in a popular and violent revolution in 1979. Ortega's Sandanistas were the target of the U.S.-backed Contras under the Reagan administration, which also mined Nicaraguan ports and harbors to bring pressure on Ortega's government while the Contras continued their efforts to overthrow the regime by violence.

The support of the Contras led to the infamous Iran-Contra scandal during the mid-80s, in which high level officials of the Reagan administration participated in a deal to sell weapons to Iran to raise money for the Contras after Congress refused to fund them. The reason I bring all this up, is that it's about to be in the news again with the nomination of Robert Gates as Rumsfeld's replacement. Gates may have lied about his knowledge of and invovlement in the scandal, but was never charged by the Independent Counsel, Lawrence E. Walsh, appointed to investigate the affair.

Also of note, in 1986 the mining of Nicaraguan ports and harbors by the Reagan administration (and the support of the Contras) resulted in a successful prosecution of the U.S. before the International Court of Justice for violations of international law by using "unlawful international force." In response, the U.S. claimed the Court lacked jurisdiction because of the OAS, withdrew it's declaration of compulsory jurisdiction from the International Court of Justice, and then ignored the court's ruling despite a vote by the U.N. General Assembly that the U.S. should be bound by the Court's ruling.

The U.S. has not reinstated it's recognition of the World Court since, significantly undermining progress in building an international body for the resolution of disputes between nations.

[Djamila]

You reap what you sow.

[doppelgänger]

Originally Posted by Djamila

You reap what you sow.

Perhaps.

The other significant aspect of Ortega's victory is that he is closely allied with (and largely funded by) Venezuela's Hugo Chavez. This gives Chavez yet another ally against the U.S. in Latin America, and underscores yet another miserable failure in foreign policy by the Bush Administration.

[lunamoth]

What a mess.

I remember Iran-Contra. Regan was popular but this was a terrible scandal under his administration. Frankly, the exception of Bush Sr. the Republican admins in my lifetime have been terrible.

[Jaiket]

Perhaps the swing to the left in Central and South America can give us a little hope for the Middle East. If they can use oil revenues and other natural resources for their own benefit, why can't Iraqis and Saudis?

[lilithu]

Originally Posted by doppelgänger

Lost in the shuffle of the U.S. midterms is the story of the Nicaraguan elections that took place on November 5. The socialist Sandanista party under Daniel Ortega regained control of the national government.

Yeah I saw that.

My understanding is that the Sandanistas were hugely popular with the people when they first took over Nicaragua. But due largely to pressure, both legal and illegal, from the U.S. they started violating human rights and doing nasty things. I'm not blaming that all on the U.S.. Of course people are responsible for their own actions. But I always wondered what they might have accomplished for their people if they had been left alone. Now, with Chavez as a powerful ally, let's see what happens.

At any rate this past week feels like karma coming to fruition.

[lilithu]

Originally Posted by doppelgänger

Perhaps.

The other significant aspect of Ortega's victory is that he is closely allied with (and largely funded by) Venezuela's Hugo Chavez. This gives Chavez yet another ally against the U.S. in Latin America, and underscores yet another miserable failure in foreign policy by the Bush Administration.

This isn't just Bush's fault. The U.S. in general has had miserable foreign policy in Latin America for decades.

[Booko]

Originally Posted by lilithu

This isn't just Bush's fault. The U.S. in general has had miserable foreign policy in Latin America for decades.

We've had a miserable foreign policy just about everywhere for decades, simply because the assumption behind our foreign policy is that we somehow deserve to be "in charge," and the end of the Cold War has only made us more cocky.

We are so crusin' for a bruisin'. I can only hope we come to our senses soon before we get *really* hurt, because 9/11 was just a warmup compared to what we should expect if we keep heading the way we have.

[lilithu]

Originally Posted by Booko

We've had a miserable foreign policy just about everywhere for decades, simply because the assumption behind our foreign policy is that we somehow deserve to be "in charge," and the end of the Cold War has only made us more cocky.

We are so crusin' for a bruisin'. I can only hope we come to our senses soon before we get *really* hurt, because 9/11 was just a warmup compared to what we should expect if we keep heading the way we have.

Yes, I totally agree. The reason why I focused on Latin America however is because I really don't think Bush Jr.'s policy has been worse there than his predecessors, whereas as bad as we are in general Jr. has been far worse in his Middle East policy than Clinton or his dad. We've always been arrogant but the last few years have been a profound lack of understanding and competence.

[doppelgänger]

Originally Posted by lilithu

Yes, I totally agree. The reason why I focused on Latin America however is because I really don't think Bush Jr.'s policy has been worse there than his predecessors, whereas as bad as we are in general Jr. has been far worse in his Middle East policy than Clinton or his dad. We've always been arrogant but the last few years have been a profound lack of understanding and competence.

I agree that Latin American policy has been a mess for more than a century (at least), I see Bush's approach to foreign policy as a new low that has fueled the rise of Chavez and a new breed of Latin American strongmen by making them seem reasonable by comparison.