Neocons Still Spewing Their Deranged Philosophy
Neocons right wing double standard on democracy continue with the military coup in Honduras.
These reactionary GOP asshats continue to spew their support for proto-fascist authoritarianism and anti-human rights, both hallmarks of their deranged philosophy which dominated the policies and actions of the criminal Bush regime.
From Daniel Luban and Jim Lobe at IPS News: "When the Honduran military deposed President Manuel Zelaya on Sunday, in an incident that stirred memories of Cold War military coups in Latin America, it also seems to have caused at least some foreign policy commentators here to revert to positions reminiscent of the Cold War.
"While the Organisation of American States (OAS), the U.N. General Assembly, and the U.S. government all condemned Zelaya’s detention and forced exile, the coup makers found supporters among neo-conservatives and other right-wing U.S. hawks, who defended the military’s action as a justified reaction what they claimed was an unconstitutional power grab by Zelaya.
"The hawks’ support for the coup, which came as media reports from Honduras described a violent police crackdown against demonstrators and a government-imposed media blackout throughout the country, may have been surprising to many observers.
"After all, only days before many of the same commentators were fiercely decrying similar scenes coming out of Tehran, and calling for U.S. President Barack Obama to stand up for democracy in Iran against what was frequently described as a coup by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
"But to those with longer memories, this apparent discrepancy was anything but surprising.
"For although neo-conservatism has in recent years become identified with former President George W. Bush’s "Freedom Agenda", and aggressive U.S. support for democracy promotion in the Middle East and beyond, the ideology has a very different history in Latin America.
"During the Cold War, neo-conservatives were known as staunch defenders of right-wing authoritarians as counterweights to leftist movements in the region. These included Augusto Pinochet in Chile, Jose Efrain Rios Montt in Guatemala, and the military junta in Argentina – not to mention the former Honduran Chief of Staff, Gen. Gustavo Alvarez Martinez, who was so brutal and imperious that his fellow officers threw him out of the country in 1984.
"Support for right-wing authoritarianism, both in Latin America and in Iran, and blistering criticism of Jimmy Carter’s human rights policy comprised the core of the movement’s early manifesto, Jeanne Kirkpatrick’s famous 1979 essay in Commentary magazine, "Dictatorships and Double Standards". Ronald Reagan was so impressed with the article that he made Kirkpatrick his ambassador to the United Nations.
"The current debate over Honduras serves as a reminder that the simple polarities of recent foreign policy discussions, in which a "neo-conservatism" identified with democracy promotion is contrasted with a "realism" identified with acceptance of authoritarian governments, disguise a more complex history.
"After all, even as neo-conservatives championed democratic "transformation" in the Middle East during the Bush administration, they applauded the attempted coup against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in 2002 and were deeply disappointed by its failure.
"Two years later, they welcomed the forcible exile of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide aboard a U.S. Air Force jet in the face of an uprising by former military officers and their paramilitary allies.
"Similarly, the right-wing National Review editorialised that '[t]he Honduran soldiers who escorted Pres. Manuel Zelaya from his home on Sunday were acting to protect their country’s democracy, not to trample it."
"But the actual means by which he was ousted – specifically the decision by the military to intervene in what was essentially a political dispute by arresting him and dispatching him to Costa Rica – bore all the hallmarks of a conventional coup d'etat, even if it was ratified by the Congress immediately afterward."
These reactionary GOP asshats continue to spew their support for proto-fascist authoritarianism and anti-human rights, both hallmarks of their deranged philosophy which dominated the policies and actions of the criminal Bush regime.
From Daniel Luban and Jim Lobe at IPS News: "When the Honduran military deposed President Manuel Zelaya on Sunday, in an incident that stirred memories of Cold War military coups in Latin America, it also seems to have caused at least some foreign policy commentators here to revert to positions reminiscent of the Cold War.
"While the Organisation of American States (OAS), the U.N. General Assembly, and the U.S. government all condemned Zelaya’s detention and forced exile, the coup makers found supporters among neo-conservatives and other right-wing U.S. hawks, who defended the military’s action as a justified reaction what they claimed was an unconstitutional power grab by Zelaya.
"The hawks’ support for the coup, which came as media reports from Honduras described a violent police crackdown against demonstrators and a government-imposed media blackout throughout the country, may have been surprising to many observers.
"After all, only days before many of the same commentators were fiercely decrying similar scenes coming out of Tehran, and calling for U.S. President Barack Obama to stand up for democracy in Iran against what was frequently described as a coup by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
"But to those with longer memories, this apparent discrepancy was anything but surprising.
"For although neo-conservatism has in recent years become identified with former President George W. Bush’s "Freedom Agenda", and aggressive U.S. support for democracy promotion in the Middle East and beyond, the ideology has a very different history in Latin America.
"During the Cold War, neo-conservatives were known as staunch defenders of right-wing authoritarians as counterweights to leftist movements in the region. These included Augusto Pinochet in Chile, Jose Efrain Rios Montt in Guatemala, and the military junta in Argentina – not to mention the former Honduran Chief of Staff, Gen. Gustavo Alvarez Martinez, who was so brutal and imperious that his fellow officers threw him out of the country in 1984.
"Support for right-wing authoritarianism, both in Latin America and in Iran, and blistering criticism of Jimmy Carter’s human rights policy comprised the core of the movement’s early manifesto, Jeanne Kirkpatrick’s famous 1979 essay in Commentary magazine, "Dictatorships and Double Standards". Ronald Reagan was so impressed with the article that he made Kirkpatrick his ambassador to the United Nations.
"The current debate over Honduras serves as a reminder that the simple polarities of recent foreign policy discussions, in which a "neo-conservatism" identified with democracy promotion is contrasted with a "realism" identified with acceptance of authoritarian governments, disguise a more complex history.
"After all, even as neo-conservatives championed democratic "transformation" in the Middle East during the Bush administration, they applauded the attempted coup against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in 2002 and were deeply disappointed by its failure.
"Two years later, they welcomed the forcible exile of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide aboard a U.S. Air Force jet in the face of an uprising by former military officers and their paramilitary allies.
"Similarly, the right-wing National Review editorialised that '[t]he Honduran soldiers who escorted Pres. Manuel Zelaya from his home on Sunday were acting to protect their country’s democracy, not to trample it."
"But the actual means by which he was ousted – specifically the decision by the military to intervene in what was essentially a political dispute by arresting him and dispatching him to Costa Rica – bore all the hallmarks of a conventional coup d'etat, even if it was ratified by the Congress immediately afterward."
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