Sen.
Kerry voted for the Patriot Act. He voted for the resolution that
allowed
Bush to invade Iraq. In this brief, the Council on Hemispheric
Affairs
notes another disturbing fact: Sen Kerry's stated policies on
Latin
America look like his opponent's.
Sen. Kerry woos hard-line Cuban right; risks
marring his reputation as
an
advocate of a more principled foreign policy.
The
Democratic candidate could witness a substantial bloc of voters
defect
to a possible resurgent Nader campaign, which could cost him
dearly
in
swing states, and even sway the election.
Outflanking Bush on the right regarding Cuba
and Venezuela could
dangerously
ignite these issues, as occurred in the first Bush
presidency
when
the U.S. invaded Panama in 1989. Kerrys Latin American script could
have
been written by Roger Noriega and Otto Reich.
The Democratic candidate: sterile on Cuba and
Venezuela, good on Haiti.
In
a series of foreign policy formulations in recent days, the
presumptive
Democratic
party presidential nominee, Senator John Kerry, has issued a
number
of statements on Latin American-related subjects which, if
anything,
appear to outflank on the right the Bush administrations
extremist
regional policymakers, as he shamelessly panders to the
anti-Castro
paranoia of a group of aging but wealthy Cuban-American
ideologues
in South Florida, and rich Venezuelan expatriates in Coral
Gables.
His two primary targets have been President Hugo Chavez of
Venezuela
and Cubas Fidel Castro. While commendably finding fault with
Bush
policy regarding Secretary of State Powells failure to protect the
Aristide
government in Haiti, Kerrys rhetoric regarding Cuba and
Venezuela
is reminiscent of barren Cold War strictures which, for all
purposes,
places him in the same extremist ideological bracket as the
administrations
two chief Latin American policy makers; the State
Departments
Roger Noriega and the Bush White Houses Otto Reich.
Guerrilla
News Network - March 30, 2004
http://www.guerrillanews.com/human_rights/doc4197.html