USA Supporting Tyranny in Central America

There are a lot of things I could harangue about. My cousin sent me a detailed and passionate message about climate change.

But I want to talk about something else today.

On 28 June 2009 Miguel Zelaya, president of Honduras, was kidnapped by his own military and removed from the country. He was put into exile in Costa Rica.

The Obama Administration and the US State Department have decried this "coup" and are demanding that Mr. Zelaya be restored to power in Honduras.

What is wrong with this picture?

Given that Raul Castro and Hugo Chavez have also called for Zelaya's reinstatement, I'd say, "Everything!"

Mr. Zelaya had ignored the Honduran Constitution and defied the Honduran Supreme Court. You see, Honduras' constitution has strict term limits for the country's president because the people of Honduras do not want to live under a dictatorship.

Mr. Zelaya wanted a referendum to change the constitution. The Supreme Court denied permission for the referendum because, in their view, the move in itself violated the constitution.

Mr. Zelaya then went to Venezuela to have referendum ballots printed and ordered the military in Honduras to guard the ballots pending the election date. The Honduran military administers elections in the country.

When Mr. Zelaya ordered the ballots distributed the commander of the military refused and on 25 Jun 09 Mr. Zelaya led a mob onto the military base to seize and distribute the ballots.

Three days later the president was exiled. Roberto Michelleti was installed as the interim president of the country and he immediately arranged an election date which allowed enough time for candidates to run serious campaigns.

The Supreme Court of Honduras has ruled the actions of the military and Mr. Michelleti legal and constitutional.

Now, the official US position is puzzling.

Why would President Obama seek to avoid comment on the obviously fraudulent elections in Iran and the brazen militarization of North Korea on grounds of "fear of meddling", yet immediately denounce the actions of the Honduran court and military to maintain liberty and to remove a would-be tyrant?

President Obama has made advances and "open-handed" gestures to Iran, Saudi Arabia, North Korea, Venezuela, and Russia. He has spent a lot of time with the leaders of these countries. I think that's a good thing, on its face. Diplomacy should always be the first tool we use in relationships.

He also gave the prime minister of Britain 25 classic American movies on DVD. He gave the Queen of England an I-Pod. He has talked to the prime minister of Israel as if he were an incorrigible school boy.

Would President Obama like to see the United States become his own little "banana republic"?

I know my answer, and I'll let you draw your own conclusions from the evidence.