SHAME ON YOU! MR ANDRES OPPENHEIMER - Part 2

For quite some time I have been following the articles of Mr. Andres Oppenheimer who writes about Latin American politics at the Miami Herald.

While I disagree with many of his concepts and certainly never expected him to be absolutely objective it was a surprise for me to see him come out of the closet in his last article, Memo to Bush, and align himself with the feverish and most conservative forces of our political establishment; The same forces that represent and promote everything that has been wrong with our foreign policy in the region.

I feel compelled therefore to comment and expose the manipulative concepts and proposals expressed in this ill conceived imaginary letter.

The following is my second, out of three, comment to the concepts and proposals expressed in that letter.

Gentleman:

Following on my first comment to your imaginary memo addressed to Mr. Bush and published in the Miami Herald on March 04 let me further expand my thoughts on the proposals you include in that document.

The main problem with all your proposals, over and above the fact that they are not well thought, is the underlying implicit policy in which they are based on.

From the reading of your letter it is clear that you advocate for the continuation of a foreign policy in Latin America based on slogans, false speeches and welfare but no realistic long term solutions to the problems of the region. This, even though it is clear that those problems have already started to affect us and have the potential, God forbid, of causing very real national emergencies in the US.

This, without even considering the Geo-economic challenges in the uncertain years to come that most likely will force us to raise Latin America to the category of vital ally.

You seem to believe that the old speech, “People of this country; I bring a message for you” is good enough for a foreign policy as long as you give away some cash to back it up.

SHAME ON YOU! MR ANDRES OPPEMHEIMER - Part 1

For quite some time I have been following the articles of Mr. Andres Oppenheimer who writes about Latin American politics in the Miami Herald.

While I disagree with many of his concepts and certainly never expected him to be absolutely objective it was a surprise for me to see him come out of the closet in his last article, Memo to Bush, and align himself with the feverish and most conservative forces of our political establishment; The same forces that represent and promote everything that has been wrong with our foreign policy in the region.

I feel compelled therefore to comment and expose the manipulative concepts and proposals expressed in this ill conceived imaginary letter.

The following is my first comment to the concepts and proposals expressed in that letter.
Gentleman:

I am glad that you are not an advisor or even someone who Bush listens to; if he indeed listens to anyone.

I am sad though to find out the limited scope of your strategic vision towards Latin America and certainly in awe at the stereotypes you portray and the ridiculous, to say the least, concepts expressed in your letter.

HATE TO SAY IT! - HILLARY CLINTON IS RIGHT!

In the following article " The Explanation Hillary Clinton Owes ", published by Richard Cohen in the Washington Post the author uses a very clever rationale to question Mrs. Clinton position on the Iraq war.

I am not a supporter of Mrs. Clinton and I do not know who I will vote for in 2008. I do know though, that I will definitely not vote for her if she makes the claim that her vote on the Iraq war was a mistake.

With his question Mr. Cohen is playing a game of catch 22 because a senator that acknowledges that his/her vote was a mistake and ends up being President will have to live up to his /her words in the likely eventuality that compensation and/or human rights lawsuits are brought up against the US in international courts.

Acknowledging that you were wrong when you voted for the war amounts to saying you did something you were not supposed to do and therefore you agree that the US should be liable for that mistake.

That would be absolutely irresponsible (shame on you John Edwards) and, in my book, it automatically disqualifies you for the position of President of the United States.

A NEW FOREIGN POLICY FOR LATIN AMERICA

It has been a while since I had the chance to read an article on Latin America that advocates the need for a new foreign policy in the region. It has certainly been extremely long since I have read an article that offers fresh and viable alternatives to the outdated and strategically moronic Cuban centric policy we have today.

The time has come though and I am delighted to encourage you to follow the link ahead and read this very insightful article; “The Good Neighbor Strategy” by Moises Naim published in the July 17, 2006 issue of Time Magazine.

Mr. Moises Naim is Editor in Chief of Foreign Policy Magazine which I find to be a most interesting publication and therefore I am including a link to the magazine in this blog as well.

TEAM USA; WHAT A RUSH!

I went to Germany with the excitement and the jitters of not knowing what to expect from the US soccer team. I must say though that I was full of anticipation, eager to watch them play and, as in the past, did not expected to see many American fans in the stadiums.

I come back though, absolutely thrilled with the performance of Team USA and, further, amazed at the number of American fans that cheered our team in every game.

Yes, we did not classify and we certainly did not play well against Ukraine and Ghana but, that really matters very little after watching Team USA play Italy.

Contrary to common believe, soccer is not an easy game. It is not enough to know how to play, have good players, know the rules and follow a well rehearsed game plan. To be a great team you need something that runs much deeper and that can’t be bought. Something each national team has to create by themselves; something that eventually becomes a permanent feature and the fabric itself of soccer history and tradition. That magic is called personality and it is what makes a team unique.

Every great team has it and diehard soccer fans can tell which national team they are watching just by the way they play. At the end of the day, soccer is all about personality.

For years I have been watching Team USA play and though it was clear that they could play the game, they were lacking that magic ingredient that gives a national team a unique personality.

Team USA had shown some sparks of personality in the 2002 World Cup but it wasn’t until the game with Italy in Germany this year that everything came together and for the first time we could see the birth of a new soccer style and personality that from now on will make Team USA absolutely unique.

A team with a beautiful personality that was certainly a pleasure to watch unfold. A personality made up of a little country, a little salsa and a little blues. A personality brought out by the passion and talent of a great player called Landon Donovan.

I can’t wait to watch Team USA play in the next world cup!