Now that John McCain has presumably wrapped up the Republican nomination, it’s natural to wonder what kind of foreign policy he might pursue towards the rest of the world if he were elected President. For example, how would the “maverick” McCain deal with ਲੈਟਿਨ ਅਮਰੀਕਾ? In recent years, the region has taken a decidedly leftist turn; new leaders such as Hugo Chávez of ਵੈਨੇਜ਼ੁਏਲਾ, Evo Morales of Bolivia, and Daniel Ortega of ਨਿਕਾਰਾਗੁਆ have openly challenged ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ' diplomatic and political influence. McCain’s record suggests that he would pursue a very hawkish and antagonistic policy in the hemisphere. It’s even possible that the Arizona Republican, who has suggested that the ਸੰਯੁਕਤ ਪ੍ਰਾਂਤ ਵਿੱਚ ਹੋ ਸਕਦਾ ਹੈ ਇਰਾਕ for hundreds of years and might “bomb, bomb, bomb, ਇਰਾਨ,” could ratchet up military tensions in Latin America and escalate conflict with countries like ਵੈਨੇਜ਼ੁਏਲਾ.
The International Republican Institute (IRI)
McCain has chaired the International Republican Institute (IRI) since 1993. Ostensibly a non-partisan, democracy-building outfit, in reality the IRI serves as an instrument to advance and promote the most far right Republican foreign policy agenda. More a cloak-and-dagger operation than a conventional research group, IRI has aligned itself with some of the most antidemocratic factions in the ਤੀਜੀ ਦੁਨੀਆ.
On the surface at least, IRI seems to have a rather innocuous agenda including party building, media training, the organization of leadership trainings, dissemination of newsletters, and strengthening of civil society. In reality, however, the IRI is more concerned with crushing incipient left movements in ਲੈਟਿਨ ਅਮਰੀਕਾ.
One of the least known ਵਾਸ਼ਿੰਗਟਨ institutions, IRI receives taxpayer money via the National Endowment for Democracy and the U.S. Agency for International Development (U.S. A.I.D.). The organization is active in around sixty countries and has a budget of $74 million. On the board of IRI, McCain has been joined by a who’s who of Republican bigwigs such as Senator Chuck Hagel of ਨੇਬਰਾਸਕਾ, former National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft, and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Jeane Kirkpatrick.
IRI’s Latin American Activities
In ਹੈਤੀ, IRI ਨੇ ਫੰਡ ਦੇਣ, ਤਿਆਰ ਕਰਨ ਅਤੇ ਲਾਬੀ ਕਰਨ ਵਿੱਚ ਮਦਦ ਕੀਤੀ ਹੈਤੀ’s two heavily conservative and White House-backed opposition parties, the Democratic Convergence and Group 184. The latter group, comprised of many of the island’s major business, church and professional figures, was at the vanguard of opposition to Jean Bertrand Aristide prior to the Haitian President’s forced ouster in 2004. At the same time, IRI funneled taxpayer money to hard-line anti-Castro forces allied to the Republican Party.
In ਵੈਨੇਜ਼ੁਏਲਾ, IRI generously funded anti-Chávez civil society groups that were militantly opposed to the regime. Starting in 1998, the year Chávez was elected, IRI worked with Venezuelan organizations to produce anti-Chávez media campaigns, including newspaper, television and radio ads. Additionally, when politicians, union and civil society leaders went to ਵਾਸ਼ਿੰਗਟਨ ਨਾਲ ਮਿਲਣ ਲਈ ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ' officials just one month before the April 2002 coup, IRI picked up the bill. The IRI also helped to fund the corrupt Confederation of Venezuelan Workers (which played a major role in the anti-Chávez destabilization campaign leading up to the coup) and Súmate, an organization involved in a signature-gathering campaign to present a petition calling for Chávez’s recall.
McCain and ਕਿਊਬਾ
ਮੈਕਕੇਨ ਨੇ IRI's ਵਿੱਚ ਨਿੱਜੀ ਦਿਲਚਸਪੀ ਲਈ ਹੈ ਕਿਊਬਾ work and praises the anti-Castro opposition. The Arizona Senator has called ਕਿਊਬਾ “a national security threat,” adding that “as president, I will not passively await the long overdue demise of the Castro dictatorship … The Cuban people have waited long enough.” McCain wants to increase funding for the ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ' ਸਰਕਾਰ ਦੇ ਵਿਰੋਧੀ ਕਾਸਤਰੋ ਰੇਡੀਓ ਅਤੇ ਟੀਵੀ ਸਟੇਸ਼ਨ, ਸਾਰੇ ਕਿਊਬਾ ਰਾਜਨੀਤਿਕ ਕੈਦੀਆਂ ਦੀ ਰਿਹਾਈ ਦੀ ਮੰਗ ਕਰਦੇ ਹਨ, ਟਾਪੂ 'ਤੇ ਅੰਤਰਰਾਸ਼ਟਰੀ ਪੱਧਰ 'ਤੇ ਨਿਗਰਾਨੀ ਵਾਲੀਆਂ ਚੋਣਾਂ ਦਾ ਸਮਰਥਨ ਕਰਦੇ ਹਨ, ਅਤੇ ਇਸ ਨੂੰ ਜਾਰੀ ਰੱਖਣਾ ਚਾਹੁੰਦੇ ਹਨ। ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ' trade embargo in place. What kind of future does McCain envision for ਕਿਊਬਾ? No doubt, one in which the ਮਿਆਮੀ anti-Castro exiles rule the island. McCain’s most influential advisers on Latin American affairs are Cuban Americans from ਫਲੋਰੀਡਾ, including Senator Mel Martínez and far right Congress members Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros Lehtinen.
For McCain, It’s Never Ending Free Trade and Militarization
On Capitol Hill, McCain has championed pro-U.S. Latin American regimes while working to isolate those governments which are rising up to challenge American hegemony. On ਕੰਬੋਡੀਆ, ਉਦਾਹਰਨ ਲਈ, ਮੈਕਕੇਨ ਅਧਿਕਾਰੀ ਦਾ ਇੱਕ ਵੱਡਾ ਬੂਸਟਰ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ' ਨੀਤੀ ਨੂੰ. ਇਸ ਦੇ ਬਾਵਜੂਦ ਕੰਬੋਡੀਆ’s status as a human rights nightmare, the Senator supports ongoing funding to the government of Álvaro Uribe so as to combat the “narco-trafficking and terrorist threat.”
McCain has taken a personal interest in the Andean region. He has traveled to ਇਕੂਏਟਰ ਅਤੇ ਕੰਬੋਡੀਆ so as to drum up more support for the counter insurgency and drug war, now amounting to billions of dollars a year. McCain’s foremost fear is that the Democrats may turn off the money flow to Uribe. “You don’t build strong alliances by turning your back on friends,” he has said.
ਮੈਕਕੇਨ ਵਰਗੇ ਦੇਸ਼ਾਂ ਦਾ ਸਾਹਮਣਾ ਕਰਨਾ ਚਾਹੁੰਦਾ ਹੈ ਵੈਨੇਜ਼ੁਏਲਾ ਅਤੇ ਕਿਊਬਾ ਉਤਸ਼ਾਹਿਤ ਕਰਕੇ ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ' partnership with sympathetic regimes that support American style free trade. “We need to build on the passage of the Central America Free Trade Agreement by expanding ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ' trade with the region,’’ he has said. “Let’s start by ratifying the trade agreements with ਪਨਾਮਾ, ਪੇਰੂਹੈ, ਅਤੇ ਕੰਬੋਡੀਆ ਜੋ ਪਹਿਲਾਂ ਹੀ ਮੁਕੰਮਲ ਹੋ ਚੁੱਕੇ ਹਨ, ਅਤੇ ਦੇ ਮੁਕਤ ਵਪਾਰ ਖੇਤਰ ਨੂੰ ਅੱਗੇ ਵਧਾ ਰਹੇ ਹਨ ਅਮਰੀਕਾ. "
Chávez has been one of the greatest obstacles to the fulfillment of McCain’s free trade agenda, however. In recent years, the Venezuelan has pushed his own barter trade scheme, the Bolivarian Alternative for the ਅਮਰੀਕਾ, which promotes economic solidarity and reciprocity between Latin American nations. Concerned about growing ties between ਕਿਊਬਾ ਅਤੇ ਵੈਨੇਜ਼ੁਏਲਾ, ਮੈਕਕੇਨ ਨੇ ਕਿਹਾ, “ਉਹ [ਸ਼ਾਵੇਜ਼] ਇਸ ਪੀੜ੍ਹੀ ਦਾ [ਫਿਦੇਲ] ਕਾਸਤਰੋ ਬਣਨ ਦੀ ਇੱਛਾ ਰੱਖਦਾ ਹੈ। ਮੈਨੂੰ ਲੱਗਦਾ ਹੈ ਦੇ ਲੋਕ ਵੈਨੇਜ਼ੁਏਲਾ ਵਿਚ ਰਹਿਣ ਦੇ ਮਿਆਰ ਨੂੰ ਦੇਖਣਾ ਚਾਹੀਦਾ ਹੈ ਕਿਊਬਾ ਇਸ ਤੋਂ ਪਹਿਲਾਂ ਕਿ ਉਹ ਅਜਿਹੀ ਚੀਜ਼ ਨੂੰ ਗਲੇ ਲਗਾ ਲੈਣ।"
Fighting the Information War in ਲੈਟਿਨ ਅਮਰੀਕਾ
ਵਿਚ ਬੋਲਦੇ ਹੋਏ ਮਿਆਮੀ’s Little Havana, McCain said that “everyone should understand the connections” between Evo Morales, Castro, and Chávez. “They inspire each other. They assist each other. They get ideas from each other. It’s very disturbing.” McCain said Chávez breathed “new oxygen” into Castro’s regime, and that the ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ' government should do more to quell dictatorships throughout ਲੈਟਿਨ ਅਮਰੀਕਾ. Perhaps not surprisingly given his historic involvement in IRI, McCain’s campaign Web site even featured an online petition calling for support in his quest to “stop the dictators of ਲੈਟਿਨ ਅਮਰੀਕਾ. " The petition called for the ouster of Chávez “in the name of democracy and freedom throughout our hemisphere.”
Though the petition was later taken down, McCain has staked out hawkish territory on ਵੈਨੇਜ਼ੁਏਲਾ and would surely escalate tensions with the South American nation. Most troubling is the Senator’s strong push for renewed ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ' propaganda in the region. McCain has criticized the Venezuelan government’s decision to not renew Radio Caracas Television’s license, and has called for reestablishing an agency like the United States Information Agency (the USIA oversaw a variety of agencies including the Voice of America radio network before it was merged into the State Department in 1998).
“Dismantling an agency dedicated to promoting ਅਮਰੀਕਾ and the American message amounted to unilateral disarmament in the struggle of ideas,’’ McCain has said. “We need to re-create an independent agency with the sole purpose of getting ਅਮਰੀਕਾ’s message to the world. This…would aid our efforts to communicate accurately with the people of ਲੈਟਿਨ ਅਮਰੀਕਾ. "
If McCain was ever able to push through his aggressive media initiatives, he would antagonize many nations in the region which resent the pervasiveness of ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ' dominated media. ਪਹਿਲਾਂ ਹੀ, ਵੈਨੇਜ਼ੁਏਲਾ, ਕਿਊਬਾ, ਅਰਜਨਟੀਨਾਹੈ, ਅਤੇ ਉਰੂਗਵੇ have formed a joint satellite news station called Telesur (in my upcoming book scheduled for release in six weeks, I devote an entire chapter to the issue of media politics in ਸਾਉਥ ਅਮਰੀਕਾ).
ਤੋਂ ਬੋਲਟਨ to Big Stick
To make matters worse, the Chair of IRI has sought to promote neo-conservative figures from the Bush regime such as John Bolton. During the latter’s confirmation hearings in the Senate, McCain urged his Democratic colleagues to approve the diplomat’s nomination quickly. Bolton has been a hawk not only on ਇਰਾਨ ਲੇਕਿਨ ਇਹ ਵੀ ਵੈਨੇਜ਼ੁਏਲਾ. McCain, who refers to Chávez as a “wacko,” said it was important to confirm ਬੋਲਟਨ. With Bolton at the United Nations, the ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ' ਵੈਨੇਜ਼ੁਏਲਾ ਦੇ ਨੇਤਾ ਵਰਗੇ "ਦੋ-ਬਿੱਟ ਤਾਨਾਸ਼ਾਹਾਂ" ਨਾਲ ਵਾਪਸ ਗੱਲ ਕਰਨ ਦੇ ਯੋਗ ਹੋਣਗੇ।
ਪਸੰਦ ਹੈ ਬੋਲਟਨ, McCain apparently shares his colleague’s disdain for the United Nations and wants to create a so-called League of Democracies. As envisioned by the ਅਰੀਜ਼ੋਨਾ legislator, the new body would take the place of the United Nations on such issues as conflict resolution, disease treatment and prevention, environmental crises, and access to free markets. Interestingly, McCain’s inspiration for the League is Teddy Roosevelt, who had a vision of “like-minded nations working together for peace and liberty.”
Roosevelt, however, was no dove: he wielded a Big Stick and practiced gunboat diplomacy in ਲੈਟਿਨ ਅਮਰੀਕਾ. It’s a policy which John McCain would probably like to revive if he is elected President in November.
ਨਿਕੋਲਸ ਕੋਜ਼ਲੋਫ ਦਾ ਲੇਖਕ ਹੈ ਇਨਕਲਾਬ! ਦੱਖਣੀ ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ਅਤੇ ਨਵੇਂ ਖੱਬੇ ਪੱਖੀ ਦਾ ਉਭਾਰ (Palgrave-Macmillan, April 2008)ਹੈ, ਅਤੇ Hugo Chávez: Oil, Politics, and the Challenge to the ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ' (ਪਾਲਗ੍ਰੇਵ-ਮੈਕਮਿਲਨ, 2006)
ZNetwork ਨੂੰ ਸਿਰਫ਼ ਇਸਦੇ ਪਾਠਕਾਂ ਦੀ ਉਦਾਰਤਾ ਦੁਆਰਾ ਫੰਡ ਕੀਤਾ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ।
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