When it rains it pours. That seems to be the consensus the world has come to the past few weeks regarding international events. Coup in Honduras. 4,000 Marines launching a massive attack into Helmand Province under President Obama's first major military offensive. Kim Jong Il setting off another set of bottle rockets. Over 1,400 arrested in China's restive Xinjiang province. Billy Mays died. Lets try and break these down one by one.
Military coups in Latin America are like old women playing bingo-it's only a matter of time before someone goes down. Having said that, this one is more sticky than usual. Ousted President Zelaya was attempting to call for a referendum which could have led to the continuation of his presidency, which would have been a violation of the Honduran constitution. Before said referendum could take place however, the military broke into the Presidential palace, arrested and essentially banished Mr. Zelaya, vowing to arrest him if he returned. Rallies amongst supporters of both sides have occurred, and clashes between the two have been reported. As if that weren't enough, Hugo Chavez threatened a military intervention to return Zelaya to power if he were not allowed back. This is nonsense, Venezuela's military power stops at its border. One must wonder, why would it be so important to Chavez that Zelaya were in power. The U.S. state department is now admitting it underestimated the ties between Zelaya and Chavez. In the meantime, the Honduran Congress has named Roberto Micheletti acting president. The administration has suspended its military ties with Honduras, and it is easy to see why, no country can openly support military coups. Sadly this looks as if it is one of those paradoxes of Latin American democracies, it had to be suspended in order to be preserved. While coup's bastardize any democracy, this region is all too familiar with leftist autocracies. Painful as it is to write this, this may be a Machiavellian example of doing a little evil in order to prevent a greater one.
Military coups in Latin America are like old women playing bingo-it's only a matter of time before someone goes down. Having said that, this one is more sticky than usual. Ousted President Zelaya was attempting to call for a referendum which could have led to the continuation of his presidency, which would have been a violation of the Honduran constitution. Before said referendum could take place however, the military broke into the Presidential palace, arrested and essentially banished Mr. Zelaya, vowing to arrest him if he returned. Rallies amongst supporters of both sides have occurred, and clashes between the two have been reported. As if that weren't enough, Hugo Chavez threatened a military intervention to return Zelaya to power if he were not allowed back. This is nonsense, Venezuela's military power stops at its border. One must wonder, why would it be so important to Chavez that Zelaya were in power. The U.S. state department is now admitting it underestimated the ties between Zelaya and Chavez. In the meantime, the Honduran Congress has named Roberto Micheletti acting president. The administration has suspended its military ties with Honduras, and it is easy to see why, no country can openly support military coups. Sadly this looks as if it is one of those paradoxes of Latin American democracies, it had to be suspended in order to be preserved. While coup's bastardize any democracy, this region is all too familiar with leftist autocracies. Painful as it is to write this, this may be a Machiavellian example of doing a little evil in order to prevent a greater one.
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