H06796
Headlines : Human RightsU.S. Military Undermines Latin Gov'ts
The U.S. military is constantly pushing for social problems to be treated as security issues, which undermines civilian governments in Latin America according to an analysis by U.S. human rights groups.
[Posted By ShadowUnit]Republished from Reuters
SAO PAULO, Brazil, Dec 16 (Reuters) – The U.S. military is undermining civilian government in Latin America as it pushes for social problems to be treated as security issues, an analysis by U.S. human rights groups says.
Youth gangs in Central America, populist unrest in Andean nations, crime and drug smuggling do not need a military response yet the Pentagon was trying to coax Latin American armed forces to tackle them, the study said.
“The lines separating military and civilian governance roles, firmly drawn by many Latin American governments after decades of conflict and military dictatorships, are being erased both in U.S. policy and in the region,” it said.
The analysis, entitled “Erasing the Lines”, was prepared by the Latin America Working Group Education Fund, the Center for International Policy and the Washington Office on Latin America.
It also said the U.S. defense sector was grabbing a bigger role in handling foreign aid programs that the state or other civilian departments would traditionally have managed.
Civilian oversight of military aid programs such as training and equipment was diminishing as they increasingly became part of the defense budget. That meant important human rights and democracy conditions could be bypassed, it said.
U.S. military aid to Latin America…
Posted by ShadowUnit
*Algeria* http://membres.lycos.fr/pstdz/ *Argentina* www.pts.org.ar/ www.mas.org.ar/ *Australia* http://www.sep.org.au/ www.greenleft.org.au/ *Belgium* www.sap-pos.org/ *Brazil* www.psol.org.br/ www.democraciasocialista.org.br/ds/ ...
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Washington’s War on Terrorism is a thinly veiled war on the poverty of its superrich. The District of Columbia is burgeoning with people who need to protect their direct foreign investments in Latin America (and everywhere, for that matter) so they’re more than happy to ok spending that will allow lapdog governments everywhere to terrorize populations that haven’t taken kindly their respective Structural Adjustment Programs. All that money goes straight into the coffers of the likes of Lockheed Martin and Bechtel – which is good for the US economy. So everybody looks good.
Just between you and moi? Washington is losing Colombia. That’s my guess. 365 days, maxx. Yay for Brazil. I hate to see people dissing Lula – he’s a good guy up against almost (but not quite) impossible odds.
The text of a speech given by Evo Morales on December 24 at the In Defense of Humanity conference
Bolivian President-elect Evo Morales, who will be that country’s first indigenous president, invited EZLN leader ‘subcomandante Marcos’ to attend his Jan. 22 inaugural ceremony. Both Morales and Marcos are opposed to free-market economic policies and have defended the rights of indigenous people.
SOURCE : InterPress Service “Zapatista Guerrillas Set for Nationwide Tour:http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=31611
Washington is losing Colombia
Yeah, I’ll buy that.
Former ‘‘Economic Hit Man’‘ John Perkins on ‘‘The First Truly Global Empire’‘ and its Impact on Latin America: We speak with the author of ‘‘Confessions of an Economic Hit Man’‘ about his former work going into various countries to create a secret empire through economics after being recruited by the National Security Agency. Perkins discusses the policy in the context of the recent WTO meetings, the NYC transit strikes, and U.S. economic interventions in Latin America.