By Raoul Lowery Contreras
Under George W. Bush, foreign policy was simply defined after 9/11: You are either with us or against us. To that end we invaded two countries and operated militarily in several others. Result: we killed thousands upon thousands of terrorists in their own countries or killed soldiers of misfortune who believed their Muslim mullahs about “Satan” America and flocked to Iraq and Afghanistan to kill Americans. They died.
During those Bush years, he also took care of business; for example: Bush negotiated several trade agreements with Central American countries — Central American Free Trade Agreement — (CAFTA) and Panama, Colombia and South Korea.
He worked with Mexico’s President Vicente Fox to allow some guns purchased in the United States to make their way to Mexico where joint Mexican and American officers could track the guns and bust drug cartel people by following hidden GPS (satellite) trackers imbedded in the weapons. The program didn’t work well, so it was stopped.
He also worked with President Fox to organize the first and only Comprehensive Immigration Reform proposal since the 1986 Immigration Control Act Ronald Reagan signed into law. Democrats, including Barack Obama, killed it in Congress.
Bush worked with the Poles and Czechs to develop a missile shield in their countries to protect Europe from Russian and Iranian missiles. Obama killed the program.
Bush did all that while prosecuting two wars.
American Foreign Policy was sidetracked by the election of Barack Hussein Obama. The question is: Is the United States better off today in foreign relations than it was on January 19, 2009?
From the American Hispanic viewpoint, no! American foreign policy has deteriorated so badly it hardly exists today. From the Latin American standpoint, American foreign policy today is worse than even under Democrat President Woodrow Wilson who invaded Mexico twice in two years (1914 and 1916) and Haiti (1915) and the Dominican Republic (1919).
The invasions of Mexico were spearheaded by the U.S. Army and both failed miserably. Haiti and the Dominican Republic were U.S. Marine operations and they were successful. Interestingly, from the American Hispanic view, in the Dominican Republic the Marines organized horseback special operations Marines from Mexican American troops and they “terrorized” the Dominican rebels and bandits that had rendered the countryside helpless before the Marines arrived.
Thousands of Mexicans have died during the Obama Administration. They died by guns the Administration allowed to be purchased illegally and smuggled into Mexico. The Obama people called the program “Fast & Furious.” Despite widespread exposure by Congress of this Obama Administration adventure, no one has been fired from Obama Administration jobs and the President has invoked Executive Privilege to keep 100-thousand “Fast & Furious” documents secret.
From the Latin American viewpoint, for three years Obama totally ignored Latin America by not sending the Bush-negotiated Panama and Colombia trade agreements to Congress for ratification. He also did not negotiate any new agreements with twenty other Latin American countries and Brazil that would stimulate new employment in all concerned countries.
His most serious foreign policy faux pax (screw-up for Joe Biden) occurred when Obama and Hillary Clinton totally screwed up the Honduras emergency that greeted Obama early on in his Administration.
First of all, it was obvious that neither Obama nor Hillary Clinton knew where Honduras was. Secondly, they were not aware that the Honduras Constitution empowered the country’s Supreme Court to expel an elected President if he was successfully impeached by Congress. This leftwing radical Castro-supported Honduran Presidential clown was properly impeached and expelled from the country.
So, did Obama and Clinton side with the legal Honduran government? No, they sided with the clown and canceled visas for Honduran government officials as punishment. Eventually, of course, Obama and Clinton had to quit supporting knee-jerk leftists and let the legal Hondurans run their own country. The Mighty Duo of Obama/Clinton totally screwed up on Honduras.
Back to trade which we need to create good jobs in the U.S. Obama is against free trade agreements as envisioned first by Ronald Reagan, then the Bushes and even Bill Clinton. Obama actually campaigned against the 14-year-old established North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Canada and Mexico. It helped Clinton create 20-million jobs in 6 years.
In the Senate (2005), he voted against the CAFTA agreement and then voted against its implementation. He also voted (2005) no on a bill that would have expanded work visas for farm workers who the entire universe knows are mostly Mexican.
Add in millions of angry Muslims rioting from North Africa to Australia who hate Americans out of profound jealousy and Americans being murdered by some Muslim terrorists and we are left with one conclusion —- Barack Hussein Obama’s foreign policy rates little more than an “F-plus.”
Editor’s Note: as with all postings appearing with a by-line, this op-ed is the author’s opinion, and not necessarily the official position of Cafe Con Leche Republicans.
####
Raoul Lowery Contreras (1941) was born in Mexico, raised in the USA. Former U.S. Marine, athlete, Dean’s List at San Diego State. Professional political consultant and California Republican Party official(1963-65)…Television news commentator, radio talk show host…published Op-Ed writer (1988 to present)…author of 12 books (as of 1-05-12). His books are available on Amazon.com.
My, My, Raoul, baby (or as the TV guy, Kojak would put it = “Who loves ya, baby”) – you’re spreading your poorly researched opinions – again. For example, you Praise Boy George (America’s own George III – George Washington, Papa George Bush, and Boy George Bush) for running, well actually, Walking guns in the “ATF Gunwalking scandel” of guns into Mexico.
Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about that – in an article about the “2006–2008: Operation Wide Receiver and other probes” programs – start of quote – “The first known ATF “gunwalking” operation to Mexican drug cartels, named Operation Wide Receiver, began in early 2006 and ran into late 2007. Licensed dealer Mike Detty of Mad Dawg Global informed the ATF of a suspicious gun purchase that took place in February 2006 in Tucson, Arizona. In March he was hired as a confidential informant working with the ATF’s Tucson office, part of their Phoenix, Arizona field division. With the use of surveillance equipment, ATF agents monitored additional sales by Detty to straw purchasers. With assurance from ATF “that Mexican officials would be conducting surveillance or interdictions when guns got to the other side of the border”, Detty would sell a total of about 450 guns during the operation. These included AR-15s, semi-automatic AK-pattern rifles, and Colt .38s. The majority of the guns were eventually lost as they moved into Mexico.
At the time, under the Bush administration Department of Justice (DOJ), no arrests or indictments were made. After President Barack Obama took office in 2009, the DOJ reviewed Wide Receiver and found that guns had been allowed into the hands of suspected gun traffickers. Indictments began in 2010, over three years after Wide Receiver concluded. As of October 4, 2011, nine people had been charged with making false statements in acquisition of firearms and illicit transfer, shipment or delivery of firearms. As of November, charges against one defendant had been dropped; five of them had pled guilty, and one had been sentenced to one year and one day in prison. Two of them remained fugitives.” – end of quote.
Link to Web-article – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATF_gunwalking_scandal. There are 106 Footnotes to the Wikipedia article – and the page was last updated 9/11/12.
As always, with your articles, Raoul – you FAIL to provide ANY Footnotes!!!
I know, Raoul – that you personally see yourself as GREATLY SUPERIOR to any and all Wikipedia entries – BUT, Raoul, baby – THE PEOPLE – across and around the WORLD – edit the Wikipedia pieces – so the COLLECTIVE Wisdom of the People – stike me – as collectively having more wisdom that just little old you, Raoul !!!!
And Raoul, you Praise Boy George for starting the war in IRAQ – for what ?? To find and go after “Weapons of MASS Destruction”???? How come NO WEAPONS of Mass Destruction were EVER FOUND, Raoul ??????
I believe, Raoul – that thousand upon thousands of innocent women and children were killed in Iraq and Afganistan – but you, Raoul – LABLE these INNOCENT folk – as terrorists !!! For Shame, Raoul. For Shame !!!!
I could go on, Raoul – just like you go on and on – but I won’t.
I wonder, Raoul – ARE YOU even going to respond to my post ????
Most of the time – like better than 85% of the time, Raoul, you don’t respond. We’ll see about this time, though.
I blogged about Obama’s foreign policy failures in Latin America recently. You can read the blog here.
Anyone who has read my comments knows that I OFTEN take issue with Roaul, but when he is right… he’s right! “Pundonor” requires me to point this out, especially after reading the “putativo” rebuttable of this “farsante”– as in “farsa”– Robert Allen. I am not into name calling, but after “Raoul baby,” and “Boy George,” I am showing considerable restraint. I hardly know where to start with Allen’s “comments”…
Incidently, my grandfather– and namesake– was Senior Sargent, 13th Cav.”F” Troop, the early morning of 03/09/16 when Pancho Villa attacked Columbus, NM. Gen. John J.”Blackjack” Pershing counter-signed his field commission in Torreon, Mexico, in the late fall of that year. In this country, Woodrow Wilson is presented as a noble and visionary idealist… League of Nations, and all of that. Read memoirs of period Army officers– e.g. Col. Frank Tompkins– and discover what a disaster Wilson’s foreign– especially Mexican (and Latin American)– policy was!
Here’s the latest on the “Fast and Furious” program from the Washington Post –
Start of quote – “The Justice Department’s internal watchdog is faulting the agency for misguided strategies, errors in judgment and management failures during a bungled gun-trafficking probe in Arizona that resulted in hundreds of weapons turning up at crime scenes in the United States and Mexico.
In a 471-page report, Inspector General Michael Horowitz referred over a dozen people for possible disciplinary action for their roles in Operation Fast and Furious. The report did not criticize Attorney General Eric Holder.
The report found no evidence that Holder was informed about the operation before Jan. 31, 2011, or that the attorney general was told about the controversial gun-walking tactic employed by the department’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Read more at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/watchdog-faults-justice-department-over-fast-and-furious-no-evidence-holder-was-informed/2012/09/19/cedceeae-0285-11e2-9132-f2750cd65f97_story.html” – end of quote.
Surely, miguelangel – you are NOT denying that Boy George IS America’s own George III (George Washington, Papa George Bush, and Boy George Bush) and should be seen and treated as such !!!
By the way, miguelangel, I agree with you that President Wilson’s Foreign Policy was a disaster – never forget the League of Nations failure !!!! His Domestic policies were not all that much better – the Palmer Raids, the rise of John E. Hoover, the failure of the the US Post Office to end racial discrimination (started in Wilson’s administration) in hiring until 1940, massive suppression of anti-war activism, his infamous Flag-Day speech that inflamed anti-German feelings nationwide, his physical and mental disabilities near the end of his second term and not resigning as a consequence – and the list goes on and on.
Always remember, that in 1916 – Wilson ran his Presidential campaign with a strong anti-war stance – and just look at the results !!!!!
Just an addition, miguelangel, to my comments about President Wilson’s Domestic policies. The racial discrimination at the US Postal Services – started under Wilson’s administration and not changed until 1940 – where based on Photo IDs – required for job applicants !!!!! The Photo IDs where used to racially discriminate against various folk.
WHAT does this say about Photo IDs overall ???????
Just askin’.