Man Bites Dog

Why is Ambassador Wood surprised by this?

President Álvaro Uribe of Colombia, the Bush administration's closest ally in Latin America, demanded on Friday that the United States stop interfering in Colombia after the American ambassador in Bogotá, William Wood, expressed concern that right-wing paramilitary commanders could manipulate congressional elections in March.

In a speech in a Bogotá hotel that same day, Mr. Wood said that the paramilitaries could inject themselves into the election the same way armed groups did in 2003. In those elections, the paramilitaries took control of governorships and mayors' offices across northern Colombia by killing, scaring off and bribing candidates who opposed them.   

Of course they could. Indeed, considering Uribe's kid glove approach to them, they probably will. So what happened to the Bush administration's moral clarity on a group that our government regards as a terrorist organization? I think former ambassador Myles Frechette nails it here:

Myles Frechette, a former American ambassador to Colombia, said in a telephone interview from Washington, "The U.S. government has been so intent on not offending and being supportive of President Uribe that they have allowed huge elephants into the room, and one of those elephants is the increasing criminal influence in the Congress."

How do they think this will bring peace to Colombia?

Comments

[alvarohurtado]

Maybe it won't, just yet, but the alternative wasn't exactly going to do that either.

It's an obvious fact that irregular forces have been manipulating elections in Colombia on a local level for years, and will continue to do so regardless of whether ambassador Wood expresses his concerns about it or not, or whether Uribe is using kid gloves or not.

Why, even Myles Frechette himself mentioned that it wasn't only the paramilitaries that were guilty of that, but also the guerrillas and more traditional criminal organizations. Apparently that is quite easy to overlook, but he did say that.

However, the fact that many of the paramilitaries are at least engaged in a negotiation and demobilization process (imperfect as it may be) implies that part of their involvement will be easier to control and police than it would be otherwise. To predict that their involvement will automatically increase, no matter what, is a questionable statement that evades many of the finer points of the discussion.

But if it's just a matter of preventing elephants from entering into the rooms, for the sake of "moral clarity", then Mr. Frechette isn't exactly the person best suited to talk about that either. He wasn't exactly that good of a zookeeper, in his day.

[Randy Paul]

At least he was consistent in his condemnation of the paramilitaries and the Peace and "Justice" Law. Wood condemns them and alternately softpedals criticism of them Advantage Frechette.

You might want to take a look at this exchange between Frechette and Wood (scroll down).

To predict that their involvement will automatically increase, no matter what, is a questionable statement that evades many of the finer points of the discussion.

Oh really? Where do you get your information from? Read this:

Far-right Colombian paramilitaries, responsible for many of the country's worst mass-killings, said on Monday they want the government to award them seats in Congress in return for laying down weapons.

[...]

AUC political chief Ivan Roberto Duque said he would ask for two seats in Congress for his organization. With reporters present, he handed in his weapons, as did 2,000 AUC fighters with him, in compliance with government peace talks.

[alvarohurtado]

It can be pretty easy to issue widespread condemnations of everything from a position of "moral clarity" when you aren't really going to be involved with, nor actually held responsible for, what's going to happen either way.

My opinions about the Peace and Justice Law do not easily mesh with yours, since I think that despite its flaws it's hardly automatically going to be useless, unless its boycotted to death by the very people that supposedly want something better (but they have no problems about sinking the ship and getting nothing in the meanwhile).

I get my information from several different places, something which actually provides a better representation of reality's diversity than simply choosing a partyline and sticking to it.

That declaration from Ivan Roberto Duque didn't occur in a vacuum, you know, and he later specified that the two seats they are requesting would be for the 2010 elections, not the 2006 ones. Small point, but worth mentioning, since, provided that the conditions are met, it is not entirely unreasonable given past precedents.

Note, however, that I didn't outright deny that their involvement could increase. I'm just not automatically assuming that it will, before the elections have even begun.

[Randy Paul]

Even M19 actually ran for office after they demobilized.

I get my information from several different places, something which actually provides a better representation of reality's diversity than simply choosing a partyline and sticking to it.

So do I. Very little of the mainstream world media seems to be anything but lukewarm at best to the Peace and "Justice" Law.

Your comment about Frechette is absolutely ad hominem. God forgive him for opposing impuntiy for a terrorist organization.