Obama: Latin America on equal footing with U.S.

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Obama: Latin America on equal footing with U.S.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A day before embarking on a trip to Latin America, President Obama described his planned talks with Latin American leaders as discussions among equals.



President Obama refuses to criticize Latin American leaders.

"Times have changed," Obama told CNN en Español Wednesday. Referring to his planned meeting later this week with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, he said, "My relationship with President Lula is one of two leaders who both have big countries, that we are trying to solve problems and create opportunities for our people and we should be partners.

"There's no senior partner or junior partner."

Obama and Lula da Silva are among leaders scheduled to attend the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago.

Obama refused to criticize the leaders of Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador, who have taken measures to change their constitutions to extend their holds on power.

"I think it's important for the United States not to tell other countries how to structure their democratic practices and what should be contained in their constitutions," he said. "It's up to the people of those countries to make a decision about how they want to structure their affairs."

Asked how he plans to interact with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a fierce critic of the United States who once described former President George Bush as the devil, Obama offered no criticism. "Look, he's the leader of his country and he'll be one of many people that I will have an opportunity to meet."

Though he said he believes the United States has a leadership role to play in the region, Obama qualified that role, saying, "We also recognize that other Marxist countries have important contributions and insights. We want to listen and learn as well as talk, and that approach, I think, of mutual respect and finding common interests, is one that ultimately will serve everybody."

Asked about Cuba, Obama, who recently eased restrictions on travel and sending money to the island, offered a prod and a carrot to Havana.

"What we're looking for is some signal that there are going to be changes in how Cuba operates that assures that political prisoners are released, that people can speak their minds freely, that they can travel, that they can write and attend church and do the things that people throughout the hemisphere can do and take for granted," he said.

Obama described himself as "a strong proponent of comprehensive immigration reform," and said he has met with the congressional Hispanic Caucus "to try to shape an agenda that can move through Congress." ...ASAP!

[Malsua]

Corrupt failed banana republics equal to the USA. Way to go Zero.

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At summit, Obama offers partnership and humor

By MARK S. SMITH – 1 hour ago



PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (AP) — With modesty and a touch of humor, President Barack Obama extended a hand to America's hemispheric neighbors — including its harshest critics — and offered a Cold War foe the hope of a "new beginning."

At the Summit of the Americas in this island capital, Obama signaled he was ready to accept Cuban President Raul Castro's proposal of talks on issues once off-limits for Havana, including the scores of political prisoners held by the communist government.

Obama also sought out Venezuela's fiery leftist president, Hugo Chavez, for a quick grip and grin.

What did he say to a leader who once likened his predecessor to the devil?
"I said 'como estas'", Obama told reporters with a laugh.

In an opening speech to the 34-nation gathering, the president promised a new agenda for the Americas, as well as a new style.

"We have at times been disengaged, and at times we sought to dictate our terms," Obama said to loud applause. "But I pledge to you that we seek an equal partnership. There is no senior partner and junior partner in our relations."

That approach was on display Saturday in the first full day of the summit in the two-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago, just off Venezuela's coast.

Obama took part in a series of plenary sessions, group gatherings and one-on-one meetings that the White House scrambled to arrange. He hoped to make time for individual sessions with leaders from Canada, Colombia, Peru, Haiti and Chile, aides reported.

But Obama also extended a hand to a leader Ronald Reagan spent years trying to drive from power: Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega. The Sandinista president stepped up and introduced himself, U.S. officials reported.

Yet soon after, Ortega, who was ousted in 1990 elections that ended Nicaragua's civil war but who was returned to power by voters in 2006, delivered a blistering 50-minute speech that denounced capitalism and U.S. imperialism as the root of much hemispheric mischief. The address even recalled the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, though Ortega said the new U.S. president could not be held to account for that.

"I'm grateful that President Ortega did not blame me for things that happened when I was three months old," Obama said, to laughter and applause from the other leaders.

But perhaps the biggest applause line was his call for a fresh start in relations between Washington and Havana.

"I know there's a longer journey that must be traveled to overcome decades of mistrust, but there are critical steps we can take toward a new day," he said.

On Tuesday, Obama ordered an easing of travel and remittance restrictions for Americans with relatives in Cuba. Within hours, Castro — who took over from his ailing brother Fidel a year ago — responded with an offer of talks on "everything" that divides the two countries.

The White House welcomed the offer, but suggested actions would be better, such as releasing some of Havana's scores of political prisoners.
Added Obama: "I am not interested in talking for the sake of talking. But I do believe that we can move U.S.-Cuban relations in a new direction."

Cuba became a dominant issue even though the summit was taking place amid the worst global downturn since the Great Depression.

To Latin American nations reeling from a sudden plunge in exports, Obama promised a new hemispheric growth fund, an initiative to increase Caribbean security and a new regional partnership to develop alternative energy sources and fight global warming.

But most of all, he offered an end to old hemispheric arguments.

"I didn't come here to debate the past," Obama said. "I came here to deal with the future ... We must learn from history. But we can't be trapped by it."

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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April 18, 2009
Shake hands with the devil

Rick Moran

Great movie, And, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words:



Joke of the day:

Q. What’s the difference between Barack Obama and Hugo Chavez?
A. One is grinning as he shakes the hand of a socialist. The other one is Barack Obama. (HT: Patterico)

Michelle Malkin: "At least he didn't bow."

Fox News:

President Obama made the first move to greet Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez, but it was the acerbic and anti-American leader who beat Obama to the punch on the World Wide Web.

In a clear indication Chavez sought to leverage his brief encounter with Obama at the opening ceremonies of the fifth Summit of the Americas here, Chavez's government Web site almost immediately posted a photo of the two leaders and a government-approved commentary in Spanish that read as follows:

"Before the Inaugural session of the 5th Summit of the Americas, the President of the United States approached President Chavez to greet him. They both drew their hands in a historic handshake after many years of tension under the Bush administration, when relations between Washington and Caracas had deteriorated. President Chavez expressed to Obama his desire for changes in the relations between the two countries. Eight years ago I greeted President Bush with this same hand. I'd like to be your friend."

It took the White House almost three hours to confirm the handshake. As of 9:20 p.m. EST there was no indication the White House intended to release any photos. A senior administration official declined to describe the leaders' glancing conversation, but did not dispute the Venezuelan government's account.

Late Friday, Obama told reporters he said to Chavez: "Como Esta?" (How are you?)

Well, at least he didn't try and speak Austrian with Chavez.

Once again, our president has gladly made himself a propaganda tool of an enemy. But of course, in Obama's world, we have no "enemies" - only Facebook friends we haven't added yet.

Perhaps the White House should open an office of foreign propaganda and channel all requests to make the United States look idiotic through there. Save gas money by keeping Obama at home and save time and energy in writing press releases; we'll just have the thugs of the world write them for us.

Will Obama ask Chavez about the Hezb'allah training camps in Venezuala? Or the help he's giving to FARC who is fighting a civil war against an ally, Columbia? Or of his designs to destroy Venezualan democracy by having himself all but declared "President for life?"

Somehow, I don't think those subjects are going to come up between the two.

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BAM'S NEW BFF HUGO

By GINGER ADAMS OTIS


A NEW LEAF: President Obama has his second handshake with
Hugo Chavez yesterday, as the strongman gave him "Open Veins of Latin America,"
a book that calls the United States a great oppressor of its neighbors.

April 19, 2009

It's springtime -- and Hugo Chavez says love is in the air between himself and President Obama.

Left-wing wacko Chavez gave Obama his personal stamp of approval yesterday, along with one of his favorite reads -- a detailed look at Latin American politics through 500 years of what it says was US exploitation.
Chavez, a strident critic of George W. Bush's administration, said his meeting with Obama yesterday at the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago was "extraordinary."

"I feel great optimism and the best of good will to advance. We have started off on the right foot," Chavez said in a statement.

He said it was time for "a true start of a new history, for there to be balance, that there's an end to the mechanisms of domination."

Venezuela's strongman was so smitten with Obama, he took to the TV airwaves to tell his countrymen he didn't "have the slightest doubt" relations would improve with Washington under Bush's successor.

Obama played coy. He politely thanked Chavez for his gift -- a Spanish-language edition of Eduardo Galeano's "Open Veins of Latin America" -- and later joked: "I thought it was one of Chavez's books. I was going to give him one of mine."

But in another sign of cooperation, Chavez announced he will send an ambassador, Roy Chaderton, his current representative at the Organization of American States, to Washington, just months after he pulled his top US diplomat because of a dispute over Bolivia.

Chavez approached Secretary of State Hillary Clinton yesterday about the move and the former first lady said she "welcomes this development."

Chavez showed the love on his government Web site, rushing to post a photo of Obama with his hand on Chavez's shoulder.

After their initial meeting Friday, the two amigos saw each other out again yesterday morning for another quick handshake.

Later in the day, during a group photo with other summiteers, Obama leaned behind the other leaders and reached out to Chavez again, this time calling over a translator so the two could share a brief chat.

Yesterday's summit meetings included ongoing discussions with Latin American leaders anxious for the United States to lift its 47-year-old Cuban embargo.

"We will continue to evaluate and watch what happens," said Obama's spokesman Robert Gibbs. "We're anxious to see what the Cuban government is willing to step up to do."

With Post Wire Services
gotis@nypost.com

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		World
		Venezuela's Chavez calls Summit of Americas 'great victory'
		19:25 | 20/ 04/ 2009

MEXICO CITY, April 20 (RIA Novosti) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has hailed U.S. President Barack Obama's offer to build relations with Caracas and Havana on an equal basis as a "great victory."

During last week's Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, Obama said that he was seeking an "equal partnership" between the U.S. and Latin American and Caribbean countries.

"Our vision of the principles of dignity, sovereignty and independence during the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago received great support and became one of the greatest victories in our history," Chavez said on Sunday during celebrations of the 190-year anniversary of Venezuela's independence from Spain.

"It seems that reformations that began in Venezuela at the end of the twentieth century have finally reached the U.S.," he said after taking part in a play depicting Venezuela's April 19, 1810 declaration of independence from Spain. Chavez performed his role in the country's newly introduced commander-in-chief military uniform.

Relations between the United States and Venezuela fell to an all-time low in September 2008 when Caracas expelled the U.S. ambassador as part of a diplomatic dispute between the United States and Chavez's ally, Bolivian President Evo Morales.

Chavez has traditionally had tense relations with Washington. However, the United States remains the biggest importer of Venezuelan oil, the Latin American state's most important export.

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Chávez reaches out to Hillary

Mon, 04/20/2009 - 10:50am



Hey, we're having an uprising with conservative radicals in some of our southern states forming large anti-government groups. These "Right Wing" extremists are considering acts of terror and even taking over some border states and seceding them from the Union. Would you and some of your comrades be willing to lend us a hand in bringing these radicals to justice?

At this weekend's Summit of the Americas, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez reached out to Secretary Clinton to talk about posting ambassadors in Caracas and Washington. (And based on the April 18 photo above, it looks like Clinton in return did a bit of reaching out, too, in the literal sense.)

An Obama administration official told CNN, "We don't know yet if Chávez is serious. ... We're not rushing into this."

Clinton might agree about the rushing part. When she was running for the presidential nomination in 2007, she told CNN, "I don't want to see the power and prestige of the United States president put at risk by rushing into meetings with the likes of Chávez and Castro and Ahmadinejad."

Remember, Chávez is the man who last month called President Obama an "ignoramus" and said "he should read and study a little to understand reality." (I supposed that's why Chávez gave Obama a copy of Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent.)

Still, it looks like Clinton's State Department is happy about the tiny baby step taken in the U.S.-Venezuela relationship. The department's spokesman Robert Wood said, "This is a positive development that will help advance U.S. interests, and the State Department will now work to further this shared goal."

Photo: PRESIDENCIA/AFP/Getty Images

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Humble Obama unites Latin leaders



Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez (r.) gave President Obama a book on
American imperialism in Latin America at the Summit of the Americas Saturday.
(Evan Vucci/AP)

His cooperative tone helped some leaders begin to move beyond historical grudges against the US.

By Howard LaFranchi | Staff writer/ April 20, 2009 edition

Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

A more humble approach to the region by the United States and its president this weekend helped put relations in the Americas on new and less combative footing, many of the leaders from the Summit of the Americas said Sunday.

From his arrival on Friday, President Obama sought to convince leaders of the Western Hemisphere that he brought a new approach toward a region still suspicious of US intentions. He acknowledged past US heavy-handedness, saying too often Americans “sought to dictate our terms.”

His approach was cited repeatedly over the two days of discussions, with the president of the host nation, Trinidad and Tobago, saying “what could have been derailed” by dissension was instead strengthened after Mr. Obama unveiled “a new direction by the United States.”

Obama’s posture spawned criticism in the US, however, with one Republican senator saying it was irresponsible for the president to be “laughing and joking” with Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, whom he characterized as “one of the most anti-American leaders in the entire world.”

Fewer divisions, more work
Yet here, at an event that was Obama’s debut with Latin America, the usual divisions and posturing were replaced by a roll-up-the-sleeves spirit. The deep economic crisis facing the Western Hemisphere was certainly one reason. But so were Obama’s efforts to create a new and more equal partnership between the US and its neighbors.

“We’ve shown there are no senior or junior partners in the Americas,” Obama said at the press conference Sunday.

This approach disarmed even the most anti-American among the participants, most notably Mr. Chávez, who called former President George W. Bush a devil. Here, he gave Obama a book – albeit one about American imperialism – and told Obama, “I want to be your friend.”

Allies, too, were heartened by Obama’s demeanor and tone. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Obama’s opening speech to the assembled leaders Friday germinated a new spirit that “caught on with other leaders as the summit moved on.”

US adapts to less influential role
In some respects, the new US approach simply reflects reality. While the health of the US economy remains vital to the region, the US is no longer the towering regional power it once was.

US initiatives are now rivaled by those of others in the region, especially of a rising power like Brazil. South America’s giant displayed its leadership ambitions by unveiling a loan initiative for the region’s most struggling economies – the kind of action only the US could have taken in the past.

Indeed, the gravity of the challenges facing the Americas rules out any stance but humility, some leaders said. The economy threatens to reverse a decade of falling poverty rates across the region. “No one knows with certainty how to get out of this crisis, and that reality makes everybody more humble and less arrogant,” said Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva.

Obama’s emphasis on shared responsibility and mutual interests aims at moving US relations with the region beyond emotions – whether positive or negative, some US officials said.

“Relationships depend on more than smiles and handshakes,” White House economic adviser Lawrence Summers told reporters.

Some in Washington would prefer that the president end some of his relationships there. Sen. John Ensign (R) of Nevada told CNN: “When you’re talking about the prestige of the United States and the presidency of the United States, you have to be careful who you’re seen joking around with,” referring to Chávez. Obama, for his part, said there is much about Chávez to which he objects.

Obama touts ’soft power’
But Obama’s olive branches to America’s enemies did not end with handshakes. He indirectly praised Cuba, saying that its good image in the region results from the legions of doctors it sends to other Latin countries to tend the poor. “It’s a reminder for us in the United States that if our only interaction with many of these countries is drug interdiction, if our only interaction is military, then we may not be developing the connections that can, over time, increase our influence.”

To advance US interests, “not just here in the hemisphere but around the world,” Obama said the US must “recognize that our military power is just one arm of our power.”

But he cautioned that progress “won’t happen overnight, adding that “efforts may be strained at times because of disagreements.”

[Malsua]

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		World
		Venezuela's Chavez calls Summit of Americas 'great victory'

For Great Justice, Take off every Zig!