The press is sleepwalking. As I have been reading the press reports concerning the crisis in Honduras, I have been struck by the lack of interest by the press in the full picture. Other than Mary Anastasia O’Grady at the Wall Street Journal, no journalist seems to care about the facts in Honduras and whether this is truly a coup or following the rule of law and thwarting a dictatorial takeover of the government.
It seems like Honduras is lined up on one side and all the world on the other, and the uncontested facts on the ground tilt in Honduras’ favor. Castro, Chavez, and their leftist brethren, the OAS, and the Obama administration all seem to be backing the dictator wannabe Zalaya. It is quite a contrast to how the Obama administration dragged it’s feet in supporting Iran and now it is standing shoulder to shoulder with Hugo Chavez. And the main stream media lazily goes along.
With Fidel Castro at the end of his life perhaps some thought the leftest threat to the hemisphere coming to a close. However there is a new threat in Hugo Chavez. The difference is that Castro’s Cuba was a ward of the Soviet Union and once they could no longer afford to support him, Castro’s relevance began to wane. But Chavez has oil and does not need handouts and so is much more dangerous.
“This is a moment when the U.S. ought to be on the side of the rule of law, which the Honduran court and Congress upheld. If Washington does not reverse course, it will be one more act of appeasement toward an ambitious and increasingly dangerous dictator.” – O’Grady, WSJ, 07/06/2009
The World is Watching
The world is watching and taking the measure of Obama, and when push comes to shove they will choose where their best interests lie. If we will not stand behind democracy in our hemisphere, then other countries will try to cut the best deal they can with Chavez. North Korea gets bolder by the day. Iran kills its citizens and Obama wants to keep the door open to dialog. Weakness abounds and everyone can see it.
