US disappointed that everyone else thinks they're idiots over Venezuela

[Judi Lynn]

US disappointed that everyone else thinks they're idiots over Venezuela
By Staff Writers, teleSUR
Saturday, Apr 4, 2015

The U.S. sub-secretary for Latin America admitted Friday that she was “disappointed” by the reactions of the Latin American countries to the sanctions and the “national security threat” decree recently adopted by Washington against Venezuela.

“I am disappointed that there were not more countries to defend (the sanctions). They were not made to harm Venezuelans or the Venezuelan government,” the diplomat explained. Speaking at a conference, Roberta Jacobson also criticised the solidarity shown by Latin American countries for Venezuela. “The tone that Latin American leaders are using demonizes the United States as if it were the source of Venezuela's problems, and this makes it hard for us to proceed pragmatically,” the politician said.

The mounting hostility from the U.S towards Venezuela is likely to be one of the most hotly debated themes at the Summit, due to take place in Panama later this month. U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to attend.

Many high profile Latin Americans have come out in support of the democratically elected government of President Nicolas Maduro, including former Uruguayan president, Jose Mujica, and Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchu.

More:
http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_69885.shtml

[jwirr]

1. I wonder if this woman has ever read Naomi Klein"s book about disaster capitalism? They really

cannot be that ignorant of what we have done in all of South America can they?

[zeemike]

2. "They were not made to harm Venezuelans or the Venezuelan government"

Declaring them a "national security threat” was not meant to hurt them.

Man they sure speak doublespeak well.

[flamingdem]

13. She's the negotiator for the Cuba dialog as well!

And she's equally double faced on that but at least everyone knows the game.

[Demeter]

3. Maybe attacking and losing Russia, Ukraine, Yemen, Syria, Egypt, Afghanistan, Iraq, etc. etc.....

has damaged US credibility? Not to mention the droning. And the tendency to overthrow duly elected democracies south of the border, like Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Haiti, Colombia, Chile, etc. etc.....Panama....cannot have slipped the world's memory as easily as it does American minds.

The endless and ridiculous embargoes on Cuba and Iran...it could take a book to list all the foreign policy faux pas since WWII...and there were plenty in the Western Hemisphere for centuries before that!

[Iliyah]

7. nopes, but peace is trying to happen

[bread_and_roses]

12. Good points (n/t)

[Scrabbleddie]

25. Excellent. Objective.

I almost caved seeing so much repetitive crap from bacchus4.0
DU allows this? It fits the definition of RW propaganda.
Its all he's posted since I've been here, every day, (4 times today alone).

[Man from Pickens]

26. you missed some

here's a handy dandy running tally of the countries the US has invaded, overthrown the government (often popular, elected governments), or conducted other forms of military interventions in:

http://academic.evergreen.edu/g/grossmaz/interventions.html

Only country in the world to ever get close to this list was the British Empire. Nazis, Imperial Japan, and the USSR, and even the Roman Empire never got anywhere near this count.

[Judi Lynn]

28. With enough murdered people, and their broken hearted families to fill a nation.

All for greed and power-madness.

As ugly as you can get.

Thanks for making this point. It's the big one.

[Demeter]

35. Several nations, I would think, by now

[Judi Lynn]

36. I think you're right. n/t

[The Wizard]

4. The whirring sound

is the founding fathers spinning in their graves.

[Judi Lynn]

29. Yes, it is. They would have had NO idea this could happen. n/t

[DeSwiss]

5. This is has got to be up there with the stupidest thing ever uttered by a diplomat.

“I am disappointed that there were not more countries to defend (the sanctions). They were not made to harm Venezuelans or the Venezuelan government,” the diplomat explained.

- If they weren't meant to harm then why do it? Don't you know sanctions are what you do before a war.

How the hell did she ever get this job? Never mind, it was rhetorical......

K&R

[Marksman_91]

8. They were meant to hurt the personal assets in the US of certain government figures

The sanctions are basically the US saying "We care about your country. But we don't like you guys in particular because of the abuses of your government against the Venezuelan people, so you can say goodbye to ever stepping foot in the US or doing business personally here again"

I frankly don't see why people are so riled up about this. It doesn't hurt the Venezuelan people, and it doesn't hurt the government in doing business with other entities. All the sanctions do are hurt the pockets of some less than a hundred individuals that are deeply involved in the most corrupt government in Latin America, and even then, only the pockets they hold in the US.

[Judi Lynn]

30. Was she insane when she was appointed? Something surely has gone wrong!

Never forget the words of the U.S. Undersecretary of War, John Breckenridge, in his Breckenridge Memorandum, penned Christmas Eve, 1897, as he discussed Cuba:

[font size=5][font color=red]We must impose a harsh blockade so that hunger and its constant companion, disease, undermine the peaceful population and decimate the Cuban army.[/font][/font]

More:
http://www.historyofcuba.com/history/bmemo.htm

The point has always been to cause so much suffering the masses will rise up and topple their government, just as the Cubans did during the reign of the US puppet, bloody butcher dictator, Fulgencio Batista, in the late 1950's.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

6. A successful example of socialism can NOT be allowed in this hemisphere.....

Unless it's Canada.

[Judi Lynn]

31. Right! Canada is much whiter, too, after murdering so many indigenous there, like the U.S. n/t

[Danascot]

9. As if the US has any right

to lecture other countries about their governments. I hope Ms. Jacobson and President Obama get an earful when they attend the Summit in Panama.

In general Latin America is making progress in many areas especially compared to their large dysfunctional neighbor to the north. If we're not going to be helpful we should just STFU.

[Judi Lynn]

32. It would be interesting to really know what happens, wouldn't it?

It's not likely the corporate media will tell us the truth about what happened there, either. Why start dealing honestly with the U.S. public NOW?

What a shame!

[Zorro]

10. Sounds like many internet authors and thread posters are much smarter and more situationally aware than Obama

I look forward to their successful future political campaigns.

[OBenario]

11. Why not?

As a general rule, politicians are not exactly gods of knowledge and wisdom. That includes Obama, of course. I'm 100% sure we can find people that are smarter and more situationally aware in several places in the society and the internet.

[Marksman_91]

14. I know, right? If only there was someone who was actually born and raised in Venezuela in this site

I'm sure they're more situationally aware about the country than any of the pseudo-activists that have never stepped foot in Latin America who defend governments from countries they have actually never been in or even speak the native language of.
<- In case it wasn't clear enough.

[zeemike]

15. It is not about their country it is about ours.

And we are all aware of what WE did...there was a coup where generals kidnaped the elected president and our country recognized them immediately and then the coup failed and the elected president was brought back...and now they have another democratically elected president and we declared them a national security threat...Is democracy now a national security threat to us?...or are they planning to invade our country?

The whole thing stinks to high heaven and you don't need to speak Spanish to smell it.

[Marksman_91]

16. Yeah, something sure as hell stinks a lot in Venezuela

Especially the many government officials that hold multi-million dollar accounts in offshore banks. But of course, none of that gets questioned because then that would undermine what Dear Leader Hugo worked to eliminate. I believe he once said in his own words "Being rich is bad."

[zeemike]

17. I guess you did not read what I wrote.

It is not about them it is about us...what WE do is what WE are responsible for...we are responsible for what we say, feel, think, and do.

And we have many a crooked person right here in this country who makes millions and billions by starting conflict and wars just like this...and they don't have to offshore their loot because no one is even trying to catch them...too busy pointing the finger at other countries.

But I don't know what Hugo Chavez said and what he said makes no difference in what WE do.
All I know is that being poor is bad too...but if you are rich you think they deserve it and that you have earned all that you have from hard work. (and the truth is that most of them never did a hard days work in their life)

But I guess if democricy does not produce someone who properly kisses the ass of the rich it is fair to let the military take care of him and install a new leader that will...and you suggest that the US should help them do it.

[Marksman_91]

18. The question I guess is...

Which rich people are the ones that should be supported? The ones who made themselves rich by stealing a nation's money (ie the boligarchs who run Chavismo in Venezuela)? Or the ones that became rich through their own private means? Just FYI, not all rich people are evil, and not all who claim themselves to be socialists are saints.

[zeemike]

19. You keep talking about Venezuela and I keep talking about the US.

I want the US to take responsibility for what WE do and stop meddling in other countries...especially the ones who have democratic elections...no such meddling is done in countries that have dictatorships or run by military dictators...and you never mention them as a problem.

But you seem to know a lot about it...what country in Latin America has the most murders and what kind of government do they have?...would that be Honduras who also had a coup and the dictatorship was also recognized by the US right away...is that what you want for Venezuela too?
Did you support the removal of power by military force?...will you support it again?...do you want to make the country safe for the old oligarchy who stole the money before these new ones you say have stole the money now?

Sorry but I believe in democricy because I think poor people are just as valuable as rich ones and they should have a say in how they are governed...and it pisses me of when my government undermines Democracy in Latin America or anywhere around the world.

[forest444]

20. You'd like to see the U.S. take some responsibility, zeemike. And right you are.

The problem is, Marksman does not. He just wants a coup.

To be fair, he is Venezuelan - so unlike you or me, he does have an emotional stake in this outcome. The problem seems to be that he's lost faith in the ballot box - while forgetting that coups always backfire sooner or later, both on the U.S. and on the people under them.

Sometimes the mere intent of a coup backfires: if you had asked me a few months ago, I would have said that Maduro (or any PSUV candidate) had no chance at all in the next presidential polls; the more news of U.S. destabilization efforts surface, however, the more likely it'll be that they'll win in 2018 by reminding voters of the very thing. Life is full of irony.

[zeemike]

21. There are people in the world that have never had faith in democracy

and never will...and those people see themselves as superior to the "little people" and think that only they are smart enough to make policies and select leaders.
And they are in all countries even our own although they may give lip service to it at times.

And they have been with us sense the beugining...even back to the Magna Carta...and they seek to undermine it at every opertunity....for them a coup is a means to an end and they don't care what we think about it.

[Oele]

22. When did Marksman say he wants a coup?

A few people around here, including Marksman and myself actually care about what happens in Venezuela. We have friends and family there. Some lived there or were even born in the country.

We see the devastating effect that recent events have on the people we care about. Yes, we want Maduro out. Not because we want to install a new US controlled "puppet government" but we want our friends and family to live in a safe and free country. We want them to be able to buy food. And we want to be able to visit them without having to fear for our lives.

Todays Venezuela is NOT the free democratic country that Maduro wants you to think it is. Yes, there are elections. But there is no free press left and the opposition is being persecuted. With half the opposition in jail and no real free press left, what's the chance that the opposition will win the next election?

I don't want a "coup" or a bloody civil war, but i do want the situation in Venezuela to improve. I don't know what the solution is.

I agree that on the short term, these sanctions will give Maduro more ammunition. But still, i consider it a good think that at least one important country stands up against individuals in the Maduro administration who participated in human rights abuses.

[zeemike]

23. Coup is a bad word.

And so it must be avoided by those who would rather call it regime change or removal from office.
But a coup by any other name...
When democricy does not achieve what you want then other means must be taken...and always pretend some noble reason for doing it...in fact there has never been a coup that did not have a noble reason for it.

In the 30s we almost had one ourselves called the businessmen's plot to overthrow FDR...but they miscalculated by tapping a general Smedley Butler to lead it and they did not understand that he was a patriot that believed in democricy...he later wrote a book called War is a Racket...you should read it because it details how the military was used to make Latin America safe for Standard Oil...And Venezuela was right there among them and still today is...and we still want control of that oil. And so we will immediately support a coup like we did before, to put control of that oil back in the hands of the oligarchy.

But by all means we should bring to justice people that committed human rights abuse...but I want to start cleaning my own house, because we have people right here who have tortured, murdered and stole billions of dollars and have never been brought to justice...and when we have cleaned our own house it will be easy to tell others how to clean theirs.

[Judi Lynn]

34. Thank you for taking the time to write this post. Perfect.

Our system has gone out of its way to keep that situation from being common knowledge through the years. I hope more and more people, after hearing it happened will make the effort to find out how a group of Republicans conspired to overthrow a beloved Democratic President so long ago.

So glad they were thwarted before they could pull it off. He helped so many, MANY people who were struggling so hard in poverty caused by Wall Street which nearly destroyed the country.

Republicans want to return the country to the days when only the born criminals lived beyond the clutches of starvation, homelessness, and despair.

[zeemike]

38. You are welcome.

And that history is not taught in schools...and in fact I learned it well after school days...as well as the long and bloody history of Latin America at the hands of the same people who still run this country and still seek to pillage them today.

There are those that care and know the truth, and those that would care if they did, and those who would not care whether they knew it or not...the latter is the real problem.

[Marksman_91]

24. The supposed US destabilization you speak of is nothing but Chavista propaganda

It's their own failed policies and utter incompetence and corruption that has caused Venezuela's economy to decline. You keep speaking of this supposed US-backed economic sabotage, but what's interesting is that, despite all these years of Chavismo using that same BS excuse, they still somehow haven't been able to improve things, even though they apparently "know" the cause of the decline (ie, the supposed US-backed sabotage.) But nothing is going to start improving unless they actually get their heads out of their asses and actually start running the economy like their other neighbors. All the other socialist nations in LatAm (except maybe for Argentina, and to some extent Brazil now) seem to be improving and doing pretty well for themselves, and none of them are following the failed Chavista model of expropriating the private sector however they please and putting all their eggs in one basket (as in, depending mostly on oil for export income) as well as using military-style populism and cult of personality towards Glorious Leader Hugo.

And as for your accusation of me wishing for a coup to take place, I really must ask you where the hell did I ever explicitly say that I support such a thing. If you can't come up with a single quote about me saying so, then I kindly ask that you stop accusing me of such things. One big reason that Chavismo has won many elections is because the opposition itself is also really incompetent and divided, and I admit a lot of their leadership are in this only for their own personal gain as well. If the Venezuelan opposition had pulled their heads out of their asses years ago and actually worked in unity, we'd be talking about a different story today.

[Bacchus4.0]

37. Indeed, we don't see accusations about the US coming from Peru

Chile, and Brazil. Even Rafa in Ecuador crab walked his comments about the CIA given the nature of the recent protests there.

The coup in Venezuela will be an autocoup. Lets see if they even hold elections this year. If they know they can't win then they won't have them. The other strategy would be to disqualify opposition candidates or even kick them out once elected.

The chavistas won't take credit for the misery they've caused. They need someone to blame.

p.s. I never hear about a "coup" in the one country that actually has an armed insurgency whose stated goal it is to overthrow the government.

[OBenario]

39. "Indeed, we don't see accusations about the US coming from Peru"

But we do see support for right-wing extremists calling for a military coup when the country leader is a socialist.

Like you did, when commenting on the protests against Dilma Rousseff in Brazil.

[Oele]

41. Could you point us to the post where Bacchus4.0 is doing that?

[Judi Lynn]

33. We know how wise they are by the effect of their policies.

Wise people do what's right for those who are in pain, who are struggling, who are desperate. They don't take their orders from the monsters who are keeping them living in pain, and hopelessness, and despair.

Anyone who's ever met or spoken with politicians has already seen "dumb" up close. So sad.