Monday, August 10, 2009
Good News About Honduras
The Obama Administration via the State Department has thrown in the towel on the position that matters regarding Honduras' perfectly legal (and not at all a coup) ousting of former President Zelaya. Here's the strong analysis on the straight dope.
Money quote:
We're still making noise about reconciliation and negotiation regarding the would be dictator but without our threatening sanctions, Zelaya is out. Good Riddance.
Money quote:
In a welcome about-face, the State Department told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Richard Lugar, R-Ind., in a letter Tuesday that the U.S. would no longer threaten sanctions on Honduras for ousting its president, Mel Zelaya, last June 28.
Nor will it insist on Zelaya's return to power. As it turns out, the U.S. Senate can't find any legal reason why the Honduran Supreme Court's refusal to let Zelaya stay in office beyond the time allowed by Honduran law constitutes a "military coup."
We're still making noise about reconciliation and negotiation regarding the would be dictator but without our threatening sanctions, Zelaya is out. Good Riddance.
Labels: Honduran non coup; American about-face
# posted by Roger Fraley @ 5:45 PM 
Comments:
<< Home
Rog,
Do I have the story wrong? President Zelaya attempted to alter the Honduran constitution to allow him additional term(s). His attempt to do so was illegal.
He was then ousted from office and escorted outside the country by the Honduran military under orders from the Honduran Supreme Court.
Arguably, this was not a "military coup" b/c the military never assumed power.
It was certainly a coup d'etat.
How you view it depends on your perspective. I do not have a problem w/ the coup d'etat b/c Zelaya was acting illegally in an effort to become mini Chavez. In my opinion, the fewer Chavezes the better.
If you are a Zelaya or Chavez fan, you probably do not look past the fact that Zelaya was disinvited from office by force.
T
Do I have the story wrong? President Zelaya attempted to alter the Honduran constitution to allow him additional term(s). His attempt to do so was illegal.
He was then ousted from office and escorted outside the country by the Honduran military under orders from the Honduran Supreme Court.
Arguably, this was not a "military coup" b/c the military never assumed power.
It was certainly a coup d'etat.
How you view it depends on your perspective. I do not have a problem w/ the coup d'etat b/c Zelaya was acting illegally in an effort to become mini Chavez. In my opinion, the fewer Chavezes the better.
If you are a Zelaya or Chavez fan, you probably do not look past the fact that Zelaya was disinvited from office by force.
T
# posted by 
: 1:19 PM
: 1:19 PM
If Clinton was convicted of lying during impeachment and had to be escorted out of the WH by troops, would you call that a coup? I wouldn't. The Honduran Constitution does not have an impeachment section, or so I am told. Still, deposing Zelaya was not illegal as Obama recently said. Our President needs a trip to the real world, real soon.
I think you need to reason that out for me. The only reaqson why a coup d'etat is not illegal is that the winners aren't tried.
T
T
# posted by : 1:43 PM
: 1:43 PM
You make my point--so it the action of the military is not illegal, as it was not in Honduras, then it is not a coup.
Every source I've found describes a coup d'etat as a complete change of government. This wasn't the case in Honduras. The Honduran supreme court found Zelaya in violation of the constitution, ordered his removal, and his interim successor was selected in accordance with their constitution.
No, it wasn't a coup.
Post a Comment
No, it wasn't a coup.
<< Home
