[R-G] Test for Obama - The Pentagon is behind the coup d'état in Honduras

[Sid Shniad]

Axis of Logic 07/02/09 

The test for Obama: The Pentagon is behind the coup d'état in Honduras 
- with or without the approval of the White House? 

By Eva Golinger. 

Translated into Englisy for Axis of Logic by Scott Campbell 

When President Manual Zelaya of Honduras was brutally kidnapped from the 
presidential residence in Tegucigalpa in the early morning hours of Sunday, 
June 28, the president of the United States, Barack Obama, was enjoying the 
peace and tranquility of the countryside at Camp David, the vacation 
residence for the U.S. head of state. While President Zelaya was beaten by 
Honduran soldiers and forced into an airplane without knowing its 
destination, President Obama ate breakfast amidst the relaxing calls of 
birds in the Maryland forest. And while the coup developed in Honduras 
yesterday, producing multiple human rights violations: the kidnapping and 
violence against the Foreign Minister of Honduras, Patricia Rodas; the 
brutality against and kidnapping of the Cuban and Venezuelan ambassadors in 
Honduras; and the illegal seizure of power by an illegitimate de facto 
government, President Obama was making a very, very difficult decision about 
the church that he and his family would attend over the coming years. 

Today's headline, "Obama chooses the same church at Camp David that George 
Bush went to," is more prominent in the U.S. media than this headline that 
also minimizes and manipulates the truth, "Chávez and allies back the 
overthrown president of Honduras." It's obvious, the choosing of the church 
which the Obama family will spend all their Sundays during the next four 
years is much more important than a coup d'état in a Central American 
country. Now one can understand as well why yesterday the statements from 
the White House about the coup in Honduras, made only by spokespersons and 
not directly by the president, were so ambiguous and measured. Obama not 
only was retired in the countryside with his family, but was also making 
high priority decisions about their future Sunday locale. He didn't have 
time to worry himself with matters far from his personal sphere. Coup? What 
coup? Obama was deciding about his own life and death, because according to 
a report in Time magazine, "in spite of Obama wanting to attend a 
congregation in Washington, later, after trying out various churches, he 
decided that it 'was uncomfortable' to be in a public place where 'the 
people' gathered around to see him." So, because of this, he urgently had 
to go to Camp David to isolate himself from his people. 

The point is that President Obama, in spite of being the actual 
Commander-in-Chief of the United States Armed Forces and the president of 
the empire, is not directly in control of the entire imperial machinery. 
Sources close to Washington have confirmed that the Pentagon, through the 
military mission (military group) of the United States in Honduras, has been 
working with the military coupists involved in the coup d'état against 
President Zelaya. The South Command carries out nearly 55 operations 
annually with the Honduran armed forces. The military mission in the U.S. 
embassy in Tegucigalpa finances the armed forces of Honduras with 
approximately two million dollars every year, and that does not include the 
millions of dollars that Washington provides through other cooperation 
programs with Honduras, and the large investment in the U.S. military base 
in Soto Cano, Honduras. 

Yesterday, members of the coupist congress in Honduras announced that they 
were in meetings the previous week with the U.S. ambassador in Tegucigalpa, 
Hugo Llorens. As well, one Honduran congressman stated that the ambassador 
wanted them to let the poll scheduled for last Sunday about future 
referendum for the calling of a Constituent Assembly to happen, because 
"later on we will be able to resolve the problem of constitutional reform, 
don't worry." But, according to the congressman, they didn't want to wait 
until November and allow Zelaya, together with the people, "to make 
decisions about the future of the country." 

It's true that the U.S. government has joined the forceful declaration by 
the Organization of American States condemning the coup d'état and demanding 
the immediate return of President Zelaya to power. But up to now, the 
spokespersons in Washington who have been speaking about the situation in 
Honduras have said that they are still not considering suspending economic 
and military aid to Honduras if the coupists refuse to observe the 
Inter-American Democratic Charter and democratic principles. Will it be a 
coup like that of Haiti in 2004, when they kidnapped President Aristide and 
brought him to exile in Africa before the world was aware of the brutal 
violation of democracy that was occurring in the Caribbean country? It was 
a U.S. plane that carried off Aristide, escorted by U.S. soldiers. And 
then, the U.S. government, together with the OAS, condemned the break up of 
democratic order. But instead of working for the return of Aristide to his 
legitimate position as president of Haiti, it supported a "transition 
period" during the following year. As well, it sent U.N. troops to Haiti 
to "guarantee peace and order" in the country. They are still there today. 

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) finances 
so-called "civil society" groups in Honduras with more than $50 million a 
year. The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and the State Department 
also channel millions of dollars and strategic assistance to the principal 
political parties and political organizations in Honduras through the 
International Republican Institute, the National Democratic Institute, and 
other agencies in Washington. Groups like Peace and Democracy, who 
yesterday openly backed the coup d'état in Honduras, receive part of this 
money originating from the self-labeled "promoters of democracy." Just as 
was the case in Venezuela, during the coup in April 2002, the U.S government 
financed those groups involved in the coup, and they continued financing 
them in spite of knowing of their plans for a coup. Perhaps there will be 
no smoking gun or direct evidence which proves the hand of Washington in the 
coup, but it is enough to demonstrate its complicity. 

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden once stated that President Obama will be 
subjected to an international test during his first year in office. 
Washington's condemnation of the coup d'état in Honduras has to be much 
stronger than a simple signature at the end of an OAS declaration. If it 
doesn't signal that it will suspend financial support to the coupist 
government in Honduras if it remains in power, the "change" that President 
Obama guaranteed with reference to the relationship between his 
administration and Latin America will become more like blackmail. 

Spanish original: ABN 

Translated for Axis of Logic by Scott Campbell, a member of Tlaxcala