Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion

Hondurans voted yesterday, and it appears that a rival of Manuel Zelaya has won. For those of you who regularly read this blog, you know of the struggle of Honduras not only against Zelaya and his primary backer, Hugo Chavez, but also against the Obama administration.

The Honduran election is a massive win for the good guys, and a massive loss for Chavez and Daniel Ortega. It is unfortunate that I also have to say that it is a loss for Obama, who staked out an unprincipled position which used words of principle, then backed down.

Honduras was the wrong target for Obama, and the fact that Honduras was able to stand up to the world will have many unintended consequences.

Here's some commentary from around the web:

• David Kopel, Volokh Conspiracy - Honduras election results in decisive win for democracy
• Fausta's Blog - Honduras: Porfirio Lobo elected new president
• Heritage Foundation - Morning Bell: A Victory for Democracy in Honduras
• Powerline - The supremacy of Honduras
• POWIP - The Mouse That Roared: Congratulations, Honduras

Here are just a few of my prior posts on the situation in Honduras:

• Zelaya The Insane
• I Hope Obama Fails In Honduras
• Let them come to Tegucigalpa
• Hands Off Honduras

Congratulations to Honduras. And thanks.

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Thanks to a reader for calling my attention to the ongoing spasms of vindictiveness in the U.S. policy towards Honduras.

As noted in numerous posts here, the U.S. tried to force the return to power of Chavista and wannabe President-for-Life Manuel Zelaya. Only through the resoluteness of the Honduran people and government were Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama kept from achieving Zelaya's return.

I thought that it was over, as far at the U.S. was concerned, when it was reported that Clinton was seeking to convince other Latin American nations, which had followed the U.S. lead in refusing to recognize the government of Honduras, to reverse course.

But apparently when it comes to the hurt egos of this administration, it never really is over (sound familiar, Mr. Netanyahu?).

As reported by the Wall Street Journal a few days ago, the tenacity of the Obama administration's vendetta against Honduras was driven by the fact that Republicans had sided with those who removed Zelaya at the behest of the Honduran Supreme Court. (The Obama administration denies this, per the article.)

Four months after a presidential election, reports from Honduras suggest the Obama administration remains obsessed with repairing its foreign-policy image by regaining the upper hand. The display of raw colonialist hubris is so pronounced that locals now refer to U.S. ambassador Hugo Llorens as "the proconsul."

Washington's bullying is two-pronged. First is a maniacal determination to punish those involved in removing Mr. Zelaya. Second is an attempt to force Honduras to allow Mr. Zelaya, who now lives in the Dominican Republic, to return without facing any repercussions for the illegal actions that provoked his removal. Both goals are damaging the bilateral relationship, polarizing the nation and raising the risk of a resurgence of political violence.

La Gringa's Blogicito has more on internal turmoil in Honduras resulting from the continued push to assure that Zelaya can return to Honduras without fear of prosecution, even for non-political offenses.

What really is going on with U.S. policy towards Honduras?

It appears that the institutional vendetta is not over, and that the Obama administration still wants to make an example of Honduras.

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The Obama administration finally got its first foreign policy victory, in Honduras. But it appears to be merely symbolic, with Chicago-style bullying still going on in the background to force Honduras to allow Manuel Zelaya back into power.

The government of Honduras has agreed -- subject to conditions -- to the return to power of Zelaya. In exchange, the international and U.S. sanctions and boycotts would be dropped, the late November presidential election would be recognized, and Zelaya would give up his attempts to eliminate term limits.

While the actual agreement text hasn't been released, here are the reported details which appear to put the ultimate decision on Zelaya's hands in the Honduran Congress:

The agreement appears to soften [interim leader] Micheletti's previous stance that the Supreme Court — which has already rejected Zelaya's reinstatement — decide the issue. Instead, the high court would make a recommendation, but the final decision would apparently be left to a vote in Congress.

The agreement would create a power-sharing government and bind both sides to recognize the Nov. 29 presidential elections. The international community had threatened to not recognize the vote if Zelaya is not reinstated, but on Thursday, OAS Political Affairs Secretary Victor Rico told reporters that "the United States and the OAS will accompany Honduras in the elections" as a result of the accord.

Hillary Clinton falsely and deceptively asserted that this deal was a restoration of Honduras' constitutional order:

“I cannot think of another example of a country in Latin America that, having suffered a rupture of its democratic and constitutional order, overcame such a crisis through negotiation and dialogue.”

In fact, as documented here repeatedly, it was the Obama administration and OAS which were seeking to violate the Honduran constitutional order. If up to the Obama administration, Zelaya would have been returned to power months ago without any protection against his attempt to abolish term limits, so that he would become a Hugo Chavez-like president for life.

It is only because Honduras stood up to the Obama administration that Honduras' constitutional order was preserved.

The Obama administration's deception aside, I can't tell from the news reports if this deal is as bad as it seems. Zelaya's return is contingent upon a vote of the Honduran Congress, which supported Zelaya's ouster. It may be that the fix is in and the Congress will vote for his return, or it may simply be a way for Michelleti to appear to be caving in without giving up anything substantive.

Less optimistic views of the terms of the deal are at Fausta's Blog, while Gateway Pundit notes that the decision rests with Honduras' Congress.

Regardless, the wrong lesson will be learned by an Obama administration in search of something it can call success: Bully our friends and coddle our enemies.

In fact, this lesson already has been learned. According to La Gringa's Blogocito, the likely vote in the Honduran Congress is against Zelaya's return, but the U.S. Ambassador is pressuring Honduran Congressman to vote for Zelaya's return to power.

A phony made-for-TV compromise which allows Obama to declare victory, while the bullying of our ally continues off camera. Chicago comes to Honduras.

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The Obama administration's actions towards Honduras continue to defy logic. On the one hand, Obama states that he is for the rule of law. Yet Obama meddles in the worst possible way in Hondurans' attempt to protect their country from a Chavez-style tyranny. Read Fausta's Blog for a full round-up of what Honduras was facing from this deposed dictator-in-the-making.

A Justice of the Honduran Supreme Court has released a statement confirming that the military acted on orders of the judiciary, as reported by Bloomberg:

Honduras’s military acted under judicial orders in deposing President Manuel Zelaya, Supreme Court Justice Rosalinda Cruz said, rejecting the view of President Barack Obama and other leaders that he was toppled in a coup.

“The only thing the armed forces did was carry out an arrest order,” Cruz, 55, said in a telephone interview from the capital, Tegucigalpa. “There’s no doubt he was preparing his own coup by conspiring to shut down the congress and courts.”

Cruz said the court issued a sealed arrest order for Zelaya on June 26, charging him with treason and abuse of power, among other offenses. Zelaya had repeatedly breached the constitution by pushing ahead with a vote about rewriting the nation’s charter that the court ruled illegal, and which opponents contend would have paved the way for a prohibited second term.

She compared Zelaya’s tactics, including his dismissal of the armed forces chief for obeying a court order to impound ballots to be used in the vote, with those of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

“Some say it was not Zelaya but Chavez governing,” she said.

While Obama improves relations with Venezuela, Obama has cut military ties to Honduras, is considering a cut-off of all aid, is doing nothing to stop loan suspensions by international organizations over which the U.S. has substantial influence, and is supporting international efforts to isolate Honduras.

Poor and tiny Honduras faces the full wrath of the United States, United Nations, and much of the rest of the world, while nothing is done about Iran. On Iran, Obama and the world acted with the utmost deference, and there were no efforts by the Obama administration at international action. None.

But Honduras, enforcing its own laws against a renegade wannabe President-for-life, for some reason warrants the full force of the United States government and international community. Honduras gets condemnation from Obama, while Chavez gets hugs and Ahmadinejad gets deference. Wonderful. No, horrible.

UPDATE: Must read A 'coup' in Honduras? Nonsense.:

Sometimes, the whole world prefers a lie to the truth. The White House, the United Nations, the Organization of American States, and much of the media have condemned the ouster of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya this past weekend as a
coup d'état.

That is nonsense. In fact, what happened here is nothing short of the triumph of the rule of law....

The Supreme Court and the attorney general ordered Zelaya's arrest for disobeying several court orders compelling him to obey the Constitution. He was detained and taken to Costa Rica. Why? Congress needed time to convene and remove him from office. With him inside the country that would have been impossible. This decision as taken by the 123 (of the 128) members of Congress present that day.

Don't believe the coup myth. The Honduran military acted entirely within the bounds of the Constitution. The military gained nothing but the respect of the nation by its actions.

I am extremely proud of my compatriots. Finally, we have decided to stand up and become a country of laws, not men. From now on, here in Honduras, no one will be above the law.

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The Obama administration is taking its bad August out on Honduras, announcing today the imposition of economic sanctions:

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, responding to calls to increase pressure on the de facto Honduras government, announced the termination on Thursday of about $22 million in United States aid that was suspended immediately after President Manuel Zelaya was deposed.

As pointed out at Open Market, there is no legal basis for these sanctions:

Earlier, the State Department planned to cut off aid to Honduras based on the false claim that its removal of ex-president Manuel Zelaya was a “military coup.” But this claim was easily debunked, because Honduras replaced the ex-president with a civilian successor (a Congressman installed by Honduras’s Congress), who is backed by a democratically-elected legislature and a unanimous vote by the country’s supreme court....

Now, the State Department more or less admits that admits that there was no military coup, citing “the participation of both the legislative and judicial branches of government” in the president’s removal.

But while its original justification for cutting off the aid has disappeared, the Obama Administration was determined to cut off aid anyway, logic be damned.

The U.S. also is threatening not to recognize the government elected at the upcoming November election:

The U.S. government on Thursday toughened its stance against Honduras's coup leaders and supporters, threatening to put them "in a box" by not recognizing the winner of a presidential election set for November.

This is the same U.S. administration which refused to refuse to recognize Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's stolen election, and did nothing at all to put economic pressure on the Iranian regime. The same administration which says not a thing about Hugo Chavez's systematic dismantling of free press and opposition political parties. The same President who sits silently for an hour as Daniel Ortega lashes out at the United States.

How easy for the Obama administration to pick on someone not its size.

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The Obama administration has not had many foreign policy victories.  But it just consummated a long hoped-for victory in Honduras with the return of former President Manuel Zelaya, a close ally of Hugo Chavez.

Zelaya was forced into exile after Zelaya tried to extend his term as President in violation of the Honduran constitution.  Zelaya was deposed by the military acting on orders of the Honduran Supreme Court and the Honduran Congress.

Throughout 2009 the U.S. orchestrated intense pressure on Honduras, including facilitating the exclusion of Honduras from the Organization of American States, threatened sanctions, and disruption of the ability of Honduran officials to travel to the United States.  The fact that Honduras was acting in accordance with its own law as interpreted by its own Supreme Court in order to prevent a Chavez-style President-for-Life debacle meant nothing to the Obama administration.

For those of you who want some history, see my prior posts:

• Hands Off Honduras
• I Hope Obama Fails In Honduras
• CNN Falls For The Honduran Fauxtester
• Thank You, Honduras

In order to ease the pressure, Honduras finally agreed that Zelaya could return, and he did so this weekend, as reported at Fausta's Blog and La Gringa's Blogicito.

Zelaya returned on a Venezuelan plane accompanied by Daniel Ortega and a top Chavez assistant, and has pledged to reenter politics:



Expect trouble, as Zelaya will waste no time in spiking the football with anti-American and pro-Chavez agitation.

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Tiny Honduras is holding out against Manuel Zelaya, Hugo Chavez, Daniel Ortega, Barack Obama, the Organization of American States, and the United Nations.

The economic and military sanctions imposed by the U.S. and international organizations with U.S. support are taking a toll on the Honduran economy. Violent protests continue by Zelaya supporters. Zelaya still is on tour trying to get Latin American states to turn against Honduras.

And the U.S. mainstream media, such as the NY Times, is doing its part to portray the Honduran military in a bad light, even though it is clear that the military acted lawfully under Honduran law in ousting Zelaya on orders of the Honduran Supreme Court. At least AP gave a fair account of the military's press conference yesterday:

Interim leaders insist Zelaya's ouster on June 28 was not a coup, saying he was voted out of office by Congress and soldiers who arrested him were obeying a Supreme Court order. However, interim President Roberto Micheletti has said the military's decision to fly him to Costa Rica instead of jailing him may have been mishandled.

The joint chiefs of staff insisted Tuesday that the military acted to save Honduras from dictatorship. Honduras' Supreme Court had ordered Zelaya's arrest on abuse of power charges for trying to hold a referendum on changing the constitution in defiance of court rulings declaring the vote illegal.

"What the armed forces did on June 28 was the defense and survival of the state, which was under threat," Rear Adm. Juan Pablo Rodriguez said on "Face to Face," a show on local Channel 5 television.

When you are called "thugs" and a "mob" because you dare stand up for your rights at the next health care forum, remember you are not alone. These are the same types of epithets thrown at Honduras for standing up for its rights. Thrown by the same people.

UPDATE 8-6-2009: The U.S. has decided not to impose economic sanctions on Honduras, in a major victory for the current leadership. The troubles for Honduras are not over by any means, but this is the first break in the international blockade.

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With all that is happening in the world and at home, it would be easy to forget about the drama unfolding in Honduras this weekend. Manuel Zelaya is threatening another attempt at a return to Honduras this Sunday, is taking steps to set up an alternative government, and has issued an ultimatum to the Honduran leadership. The last time Zelaya attempted a return, there were bloody protests at the airport, resulting in at least one death.

Standing behind and beside Zelaya is Hugo Chavez.

As reported at Fausta's Blog, the Honduran government claims to have uncovered computers programmed to give Zelaya a victory in the term-limit referendum which sparked the crisis. If true, it would confirm that Zelaya is just another Chavez, determined to hold onto power regardless of the Honduran Constitution.

As goes Honduras may go the rest of Latin America. Too bad our own government doesn't see it this way. If Chavez succeeds in reinstating Zelaya, the effects will be devastating for decades.

Keep your eyes on Honduras this weekend, please.

UPDATE 7-19-2009: Looks like Zelaya is backing down for today: Zelaya moves his “ultimatum” to July 24, perhaps giving U.S. and O.A.S. sanctions against Honduras more time to work at pressuring the government to allow Zelaya to return. I'd like to think that time is working against Zelaya, but given how dependent Honduras is on the U.S. and neighboring states, I'm not sure that will be the case.

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Welcome back to the U.S. Hunter Smith!

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After trying in vain to keep Manuel Zelaya in power, imposing sanctions on Honduran politicians and goods, and falsely labeling the constitutional effort to preserve democracy as an illegal "coup," the Obama administration finally is calling it quits.

Hillary Clinton is seeking to convince other nations to recognize the current Honduran administration which was elected in November.

The U.S. also is taking steps to end the economic sanctions against Honduras:

Six months after the US cut aid to Honduras following its refusal to reinstate ousted leader Manuel Zelaya, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a first step toward normalizing relations with Honduras this week when she announced the United States would be restoring $37 million in aid....

The announcement comes at a time when most of Latin America continues to reject the legitimacy of the current government. Honduras was not invited to a recent gathering of heads of state at the Rio summit in Mexico and its membership in the Organization of American States (OAS) has yet to be restored.

As to Zelaya, he's doing just fine. Hugo Chavez arranged for Zelaya to head Venezuela's newly-formed Petrocaribas Political Council and Zelaya has a book deal in the works.

All's well that ends well, thanks to the courage of the Hondurans in standing up to a variety of enemies, domestic and foreign.

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With each passing day, the vapidness of the Obama administration's foreign policy becomes more clear. Lofty words spoken in the capitals of Europe and the Middle East were just words. From the warm embrace of the bully Hugo Chavez, to the cynical mixed-messages on the Iran protests, Obama has shown a willingness to "work with" repressive regimes hostile to the United States while ignoring friends.

Now it is Honduras, where Obama sides with Manuel Zelaya, a Chavez-prototype who tried to put himself in a perpetual presidency, in violation of Honduran court orders to the contrary. The evidence is overwhelming that had the Honduran military not acted, Honduras would have gone the way of Venezuela.

When is Obama going to learn that you cannot work with the Hugo Chavez's and Mahmood Ahmadinejad's of the world. That doesn't mean military action, but it does mean standing up to them on the world stage, and supporting our friends.

The world loves to pick on small nations standing up to tyrants. Which is why is it not surprising that the international community so quickly has coalesced around isolating Honduras. As with perpetual attacks on Israel at the United Nations and other international organizations, the position of the United States is critical to Honduras. Will we stand with our friend, or join the mob?

John Kennedy's speech in Berlin in 1963 says it all. Then, the battle line was in Berlin and the enemy was communism. This weekend, the city is Tegucigalpa and the tyranny is Chavez-style ego-socialism.

Sure, Honduras is not perfect, but the choice of the people, the courts, and the legislature not to allow Zelaya to gain a stranglehold on power, like Zelaya's friend Chavez, should be respected. Substitute names and places, and the point of Kennedy's speech applies as much today as it did almost a half-century ago:

There are many people in the world who really don't understand, or say they don't, what is the great issue between the free world and the Communist world. Let them come to Berlin. There are some who say that communism is the wave of the future. Let them come to Berlin. And there are some who say in Europe and elsewhere we can work with the Communists. Let them come to Berlin. And there are even a few who say that it is true that communism is an evil system, but it permits us to make economic progress. Lass' sie nach Berlin kommen. Let them come to Berlin.

Obama should fly to Honduras and give a "Let them come to Tegucigalpa" speech. But he won't. Because Obama's no John Kennedy.

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Reports are that ousted President Manuel Zelaya will return to Honduras Sunday, July 5, regardless of what Hondurans want. The Catholic Church in Honduras has asked Zelaya not to return to avoid bloodshed, and the military says that it intends on arresting him on court warrants if he returns. Per The Telegraph:

Amid rising fears of bloodshed, Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez read out a message on onduran television urging Mr Zelaya to stay away to avoid violence. “We think that a return to the country at the moment could provoke a bloodbath,” he said.

Mr Zelaya outlined his plans to the Telesur TV station based in Venezuela, where his close ally Hugo Chavez is president.

“I am planning my return to Honduras... we will arrive at the international airport in Tegucigalpa, Honduras with several presidents, (and) members of international organisations,” he said. “This Sunday we will be in Tegucigalpa.” ....

The Supreme Court has issued an arrest warrant for Mr Zelaya on charges of reason, abuse of office and corruption.

The Guardian adds:

Manuel Zelaya has been warned by the interim government that it will arrest him and put him on trial if he sets foot in the country. He has called on supporters to greet him at the capital's airport, where he said he planned to arrive today in the company of a number of other Latin American leaders, reportedly including the president of Argentina, Cristina Kirchner.

UPDATE: It appears that Kirchner is not joining Zelaya, and it is not even clear if Zelaya will make an attempted return, per Fausta's Blog: Honduras: will Zelaya show up?

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Thank you, Honduras

For standing up to the U.S. government's legally dishonest and morally bankrupt attempt to engineer the return to power of Manuel Zelaya, the Hugo Chavez wannabe. You have exposed the lie (are we allowed to say that word?) that the Obama administration supports freedom and the rule of law.

Stay strong, even in the face of Zelaya's (U.S.-backed?) antic of sneaking back into the country as a guest of the Brazilian embassy.

Is it wrong to root against one's own government? When large segments of the Democratic Party hoped we would lose in Iraq and the surge would fail, the consequences would have been dead Americans and victory for our enemies.

Wanting our government's policies to fail in Honduras will not result in a single American death, and will give victory to people who support the U.S.

So I hope Obama falls flat on his face in Honduras, and that Hillary trips over him.

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It's hard to know if the situation in Honduras is as dire as reports indicate. Apparently the Obama administration is on the verge of winning in Honduras by forcing the constitutional authorities -- the legislature, the courts, the interim government -- to allow back into power the Hugo Chavez wannabe and puppet, Manuel Zelaya.

This from the NY Times, on the pressures which have resulted in a proposal which would return Zelaya to power:

Stung by the loss of their American visas and concerned about Honduras’s increasing international isolation, the country’s leading businessmen have put forward their own plan to resolve the political crisis here....

The United States has stepped up sanctions in stages in an effort to press the de facto government of Roberto Micheletti to negotiate with Mr. Zelaya. After initially suspending military aid and then some economic aid, the United States said in early September that it would revoke visas to members of the de facto government and their supporters.

As I have said before, I hope Obama fails in Honduras with his disreputable, dishonest, and disingenuous policy. If only Obama were one-tenth as tough with our enemies as he is with our friends.

But maybe I have it backwards, because maybe those most Americans consider our enemies -- like Chavez -- are actually viewed by Obama as our friends. I guess it all depends on what the meaning of "friend" is.

Please hang on Honduras. It's not just about you anymore.

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I've been preoccupied the past few weeks, so I have not followed closely enough the end of the saga in Honduras.

Manuel Zelaya, the one-term President of Honduras who wanted to be the forever-term President, will be leaving the country very soon:

Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya will end his four-month refuge in the Brazilian embassy and leave the country next week, when his term would have ended, his closest adviser said on Thursday.

Zelaya will leave Honduras on January 27, the same day Barack Obama gives his State of the Union address. I know it will not happen, but given how hard Obama worked to return Zelaya to office....

It certainly would be a fitting gesture, from one really good one-term President to another.

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Can't say I didn't warn you. The pressure tactics the Obama administration applied to Honduras -- such as the refusal to meet with high government officials -- now are being applied to Israel:

[I]n Jerusalem, prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu called his inner cabinet into its second session on the crisis that same night. The seven ministers were asked to review the situation after President Obama and secretary of state Hillary Clinton turned down their initial proposals for easing the upset and laid down three pre-conditions for restoring normal relations with Jerusalem:

1. The Netanyahu government must extend the 10-month freeze on West Bank settlement construction to include East Jerusalem;
2. When the moratorium runs out in September, it must be renewed for the duration of peace negotiations with the Palestinians;
3. Israeli must make more concessions to the Palestinian Authority and its chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

The Israeli government was informed that until those conditions were met,its ministers would not be received in Washington by high-level American officials - a virtual boycott, which downgrades the normal diplomatic, strategic and security exchanges between the two administrations to the level of senators and the special Middle East envoy George Mitchell.

As Robert Kagan pointed out in the Washington Post, there is something perverse about the Obama administration's foreign policy, which treats enemies like friends and friends like enemies.

The administration, which insists it cannot impose its will on others or dictate what others should do, does precisely that -- but only with allies.

As the administration is upgrading its ties with Syria -- which serves and has served for years as the transit point for terrorists who kill American soldiers -- the administration also is floating the pernicious story line that Israeli policies put American soldiers in danger.

My prediction: The "threat to American soldiers" tactic will be used as the excuse to force Israel to change its security and political policies, and maybe even its government, as we ignore the real threat to American soldiers coming from Syria and Iran, and their terrorist proxies.

The American people stood with Honduras in the face of morally and politically bankrupt Obama administration policies.

Given recent polling, which shows that Israel has a higher favorability rating among Americans than Obama, I am hopeful that the American people will stand with Israel in the face of Obama's misguided Middle East policies.

And as to Hillary Clinton, I say: Ever wonder why Obama gives you the job of beating up our allies?

Update: There is truth to viewing the Obama policy as one of strategic realignment away from Israel long advocated by the traditional Arabists in the State Department and current left-wing academics who populate and influence the current administration, resulting in A Middle East Without American Influence?:

The new catch phrase in the Middle East is strategic realignment. Broadly speaking, this means that the balance of power is shifting from the U.S.-backed regional order to the axis of resistance. Some commentators, like Robert Malley, have argued alongside the Syrians that the Obama administration should drop its old allies—the sick horse—for new friends among the axis of resistance. From a certain perspective, it appears that the White House has done just that, albeit unintentionally.

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The Honduran Congress voted not to reinstate Manuel Zelaya pending the duly and recently elected President Porfirio Lobo taking office in January. That vote is consistent with the accord resolving the crisis.

There's not a lot I can add to my prior posts, and these commentaries from around the web:

• HotAir: Honduran Parliament to Obama: Pound sand
• Fausta's Blog: Honduras Congress will NOT reinstate Zelaya
• La Gringa's Blog: Honduras Congress: We have complied with the Accord
• The End Zone: Viva Honduras?

Now the question is, will the Obama administration honor the accord it helped instigate, and the free and fair elections?
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The saga of Manuel Zelaya should be a teachable moment to the Obama administration. As reported in the Miami Herald, Zelaya's insanity is seeping out. Zelaya claims he is the victim of radiation and mind control experiments and is being targeted by Israeli mercenaries.

This is the man the Obama administration has been trying hard to restore to power in Honduras. A crazy, power-hungry tyrant in the image of Hugo Chavez, Muammar al-Khadaffi and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

By taking Zelaya's side, the Obama administration has betrayed an ally and friend. More important, the Obama administration's foreign policy has been revealed to be as insane as Zelaya.

We bully our friends, twist the concept of the rule of law to portray our allies as criminals, and impose sanctions and other get-tough tactics only against people who like us. A foreign policy gone mad, in which good is bad and friend is foe.

I really hope the Obama administration learns the right lessons from its failed love affair with the crazy Zelaya. But I won't hold my breath on that one.

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Honduras, Alone Against The World
Zelaya comes to Honduras and violence follows

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The Liberty Torch "is a symbol of Central America’s independence from Spain in 1821, and is normally passed across the countries of Central America this time of year. The passing of the torch this year, however, will skip the inclusion of Honduras."

Guess who is going to hold the torch instead of the government of Honduras. Manuel Zelaya who tried to undermine the Honduran Constitution by abolishing term limits, and was kicked out by the military on orders of the Honduran Supreme Court. Zelaya landed in the arms of Hugo Chavez, Daniel Ortega, Barack Obama, and the Organization of American States.

Zelaya will receive the torch from El Salvador and "will pass it to Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega."

How nice.

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Reuters has run photo of a bloodied Honduran protester (below) dramatizing the bloodshed at protests for Manuel Zelaya. (h/t) Problem is, this photo appears to be staged.

Blogger Hunter Smith, who recently finished his Marine service including two tours in Iraq, flew to Honduras to cover the turmoil. Earlier today, Hunter phoned in this post:

He did see an older man in a white shirt reach down into the blood pool and cover his hands. He then wiped them on his shirt to make it look like his blood or that he had been involved. Hunter saw what he thought was an AP photographer take the man's picture. Hunter said if you see it on the web, don't believe it. It was faked.

If you look at the man in the photo, it is clear that the blood was not the result of a wound, but was wiped on his shirt, just like Hunter said. This photo was staged, although the Reuters photographer did not necessarily know it.

The caption on the photo says: "Supporters of ousted Honduras' President Manuel Zelaya, one of them with a shirt covered with blood, talks to people next to a bullet-riddled motorbike outside the Toncontin international airport in Tegucigalpa July 5, 2009."

Reminds me of Paliwood fauxtography. Sometimes you cannot believe your eyes.

UPDATE: Gateway Pundit found other photos of this same faux-victim, and Hunter has a new post on it.

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Manuel Zelaya is supported by the Israel-bashing, Jew-baiting Hugo Chavez, who is teaming up with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran on a variety of fronts.

So this NY Times report about anti-Semitic comments by a prominent Zelaya supporter comes as no surprise:

Mr. [David] Romero, a host for Radio Globo, which supports the ousted President, Manuel Zelaya, said on Sept. 25: “There are times when I ask myself if Hitler was or was not correct in finishing with that race with the famous Holocaust. If there is a people that do damage in this country, they are Jewish, they are Israelis.”

Zelaya, according to The Times, has "sought to distance himself from anti-Semitism." This is the same Manuel Zelaya who just days ago blamed Israeli agents for targeting him, so Zelaya's "distancing" rings hollow, as The Times notes:

In phone calls to the media, Mr. Zelaya has charged that Israeli mercenaries had attacked the embassy with high-frequency radio waves and toxic gases. The de facto government has been criticized for such attacks, but there is no evidence of any Israeli involvement.

There are only about 100 Jewish families in Honduras, which just goes to show that you don't need Jews around to have anti-Semitism.

Will this be enough for the Obama administration to side with the constitutional government of Honduras (our ally, friend and supporter) against Zelaya and Chavez? Another "don't hold your breath on that one" moment, I'm sure.

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