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Born at the Crest of the Empire

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Picture of the Day - 2


















Joe Lieberman is doing alot more than "just backing McCain on the war."

Is any politician, even a Republican, being pictured as much with John McCain?

(Sen. John McCain walks with his wife Cindy, Sen. Joe Lieberman and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe upon arrival in Cartagena July 1, 2008. (REUTERS/Jose Miguel Gomez))

posted by mikevotes at 5:04 PM

7 Comments:

  • Maybe he's nailing ol' Cindy.

    By Blogger matt, at 6:10 PM  

  • Consiglieri? Handler? They guy who'll keep McCain from grabbing a foreign official by the collar and smackin' him around a little?

    And who's the hooker in the shot?

    By Blogger -epm, at 8:06 PM  

  • Matt, that's an image I could do without. Droopy Lieberman's sex face, and Cindy McCain's, too.

    ......

    EPM, I always think of you when I post the Lieberman pics.

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 10:11 PM  

  • It's crazy to be backing Uribe. He's a worse 'dictator' than Chavez or Saddam. The only "progress" on human rights we have seen in Colombia over the past 15 years is that the government has begun debating whether or not to openly admit that they are backing the death-squad paramilitaries. It wouldn't be as galling if we just said "yeah, he's a bloodthirsty bastard, but we like the FARC less". Instead we have to build him up into some kind of heroic George Washington figure.
    We shovel $1.6 million a day just in military aid on top of $2 million a day for 'economic' aid to Uribe's government.

    But yeah, Lieberman. It's not unreasonable to say he's closer to McCain than the vast majority of card-carrying Republicans.

    By Blogger Todd Dugdale , at 11:37 PM  

  • But we bought their agreement on a free trade deal for all that, right? Wasn't that part of the plan, to create an anti-left bastion in South America? Spread of "freedom agenda" and all that?

    (Not supporting it, but hasn't that been the plan over the last few years?)

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 7:10 AM  

  • That "plan" has been pretty controversial. The aid budgets are very contentious, which is why a new approach is being tried: the FTA.

    The "freedom agenda" remark made me chuckle. Yeah, that's what it's called. I realise you are putting forth the CW rationale, not advocating it.
    But that's also basically what we called it when we backed a military dictatorship in Brazil in the late '50s, and Guatemala. The list, of course, goes on and I'll be happy to regale you with it if you think my point is not made.

    It's hardly a secret that the US has a long history of providing financial, military, and intelligence backing to right-wing dictatorships in the name of "freedom".

    Colombia has (by far) the strongest military in South America. It has no credible external enemies, yet we have poured billions in military aid into it. In fact, it's increasingly becoming the aggressor in border skirmishes with Venezuela and Ecuador. Uribe was elected, yes, but by wiping out all opposition with death-squad paramilitaries. Uribe's Party admits to this - hell, they even brag about it - but they say it was necessary to "save" the country. If that doesn't sound familiar, I can provide you with a lot of examples to jog your memory.

    The "plan" is, as you put it, to create an anti-left bastion in South America. Not a free bastion, a prosperous bastion, or a popular bastion, but a military powerhouse that the US controls that can move against its neighbours whenever one becomes "uppity". Clinton supported the "plan" on a short-term basis; he felt that $60 million each year for a few years would let Uribe sink or swim on his own. Bush, however, has increased that aid by more than ten times per year. For all intents and purposes, we now "own" Colombia, which was not Clinton's goal, and he conditioned aid on progress in human rights. Bush has turned that upside-down: we must support them because they support us, but "they" support us because we keep "them" in power and we keep them in power because they follow our orders much better than any other country on the continent.
    It's not any more noble than that.

    By Blogger Todd Dugdale , at 2:13 PM  

  • We're together here. I think you make a very valid point that the FTA will be managed in corrupt Columbia as a payoff to Uribe and supporters.

    And, the plan for a "bastion" sounds exactly like the original plans for Iraq, no? Launchpad of "economic freedom" exerting pressure across her borders?

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 3:59 PM  

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