Former Reagan-era Latin American human rights official Elliott Abrams eviscerates Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for declaring--two months before--that a November 29 election in Honduras will be deemed invalid by the US. Abrams explains:
Honduras's ejected president Mel Zelaya saw the Secretary and apparently persuaded her that the outcome of Honduras's next elections must be rejected. On what basis? None was stated, and no logical basis exists. The next elections will be entirely constitutional and held on time; and the term of office of the ousted Zelaya would end naturally and constitutionally when a new president is sworn in, in January. The candidates were selected before the current crisis began, and all the parties--including Zelaya's Liberal Party, one half of Honduras's essentially two party system--are participating. There is no reason whatsoever to doubt that the election can be monitored by international observers (and we could have demanded more of them than usual) and fairly conducted. Honduras's vote for a new president on November 29 was the obvious way for everyone to dig out of the current mess without hurting the Honduran people and without damaging Honduras's democratic institutions.
But it was rejected yesterday by Clinton and the Obama administration. The State Department's spokesman said that "Based on conditions as they currently exist, we cannot recognize the results of this election." The irrationality of the words is striking: based on conditions today, we can't recognize the results of a free election more than two months from now on November 29, even if everyone thinks it's free and even if Zelaya's party participates, and even if his term would constitutionally be over anyway. Remember, it was Zelaya who wanted to screw around with that election, and hold a referendum on that date allowing him to be re-elected in perpetuity--just as his mentor Chavez has done in Venezuela. That's what gave rise to his defenestration. Now Hondurans want to go back to regular elections, but the United States won't allow them to do so?
Read the rest of this short, highly informative op-ed to see another Team Obama Disaster in the Making. Then read Ralph Peters, who equally well lambastes Team Obama for sucking up to Hugo Chavez at the expense of Honduran constitutional democracy.
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