Bolivian Leader Lectures Gates About US Behavior

[Purveyor]

Source: Associated Press

SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia (AP) -- Bolivian President Evo Morales had a blunt message for the visiting U.S. Pentagon chief on Monday: Latin American nations will pick their own friends and business partners, including Iran, regardless of U.S. opinion.

The colorful leftist leader delivered an hourlong welcome to delegates at a regional defense conference that included U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Morales never mentioned Gates by name. But most of the speech, and all of the applause lines, were clearly directed at the Pentagon chief and former head of the CIA.

Bolivia is more democratic and representative than the United States, Morales said, and democracy would improve in the entire region if the United States stopped interfering. Bolivia receives $70 million in U.S. aid annually, much of it for popular nutrition and health programs.

He mentioned the spread of Iranian and Russian business and other ties in Latin America, and said it is not the U.S. place to complain.

"Bolivia under my government will have an agreement, an alliance, to anyone in the world," Morales said. "Nobody will forbid us," he said to applause.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LT_US_LATIN_AMERICA_IRAN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2010-11-22-14-42-29

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Uh oh, time to update the "Axis of Evil" list I suppose.

[arcane1]

1. How long until the media starts calling him "strongman" instead of "president"?

I'll be generous and give it one month from today.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

3. Tomorrow.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

12. Retroactively in the history books.

[Arctic Dave]

4. No kidding. I was reading a CNN article this morning

where they were calling the "Saudi King" a "Monarch". The guy is a fucking shitbag dictator in every sense and CNN was there licking his ass.

[DavidDvorkin]

8. He is a monarch, an absolute monarch.

[Mika]

5. The media? How about DUers?

Any day now.

---

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

6. 69 years old, watched Central and South America for years and

all we seem to do is screw it up, always come down on the side of the rich and powerful, not for the common good. Oh wait! Thats what we do in our own country as well.

[EFerrari]

15. That's what we've done all over the world, especially since WW2.

The late, great Chalmers Johnson, former military and former CIA, was devastating on this topic.

The Sorrows of Empire (2004)
Mr. Johnson talked about his book, The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic, published by Metropolitan Books. In the book, the author condemns U.S. foreign policy. He compares the United States to a modern-day Roman Empire, a nation thriving on fear and military domination. He argues that the ultimate purpose of U.S. military bases is not to maintain stability or promote democracy, but to protect U.S. hegemony. Mr. Johnson traces American domination from the Cold War through the present day, and claims that militarism is irreversibly damaging the Constitution and eroding the trust of the people.

http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/Sorro

1 hr 4 (video, transcript at link)

[GreenTea]

11. "Leftist" is the word the media likes to use-Are the past or present dictators ever called Rightist?

NO!

The corporate media loves to use the threatening sounding word "Leftist" in derogatory terms to describe any Latin American leader who doesn't bow to American capitalistic leaders or the corporations who encourage right-wing dictators to enslave their own people keeping them the poorest of poor. While rightist dictators and a few elitist own all the land and everything else, dictators who reap big profits from American corporate interest.... Corporations who in return pollute the countries air, land & water while and exploiting that same countries natural resources, agriculture, tourism and cheap labor.

"Leftist" are what the capitalist blood sucking media pigs call Latin-American Democratically elected progressive socialist leaders.

[Purveyor]

17. Indeed AP has already used this variation: Leftist Bolivian Leader Tells US Defence Chief...

Leftist Bolivian Leader Tells US Defence Chief His Nation Will Pick Its Own Friends

http://www.660news.com/news/world/article/132492--leftist-bolivian-leader-tells-us-defence-chief-his-nation-will-pick-its-own-friends

[EFerrari]

14. The press is late. A plot on his life was busted in March 2009.

The fake human rights organization sponsoring it had been funded in part by the State Department. I think there are a number of threads about this in the LatAm forum.

That was March 2009

[Judi Lynn]

16. The LA Times is getting close to it:Bolivian president criticizes U.S. in front of Robert Gates

Bolivian president criticizes U.S. in front of Robert Gates
At a defense conference Evo Morales speaks of plots and conspiracies originating in Washington. Defense Secretary Gates shows no noticeable reaction.
By David S. Cloud, Los Angeles Times
November 23, 2010

Reporting from Santa Cruz, Bolivia —

Bolivian President Evo Morales on Monday accused the United States of undermining democratic government in Latin America in a speech about purported plots and conspiracies originating in Washington as U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates listened only a few feet away.

Gates gave no noticeable reaction as Morales opened a conference of defense ministers with a rambling, hourlong address that condemned the U.S. military, several former American ambassadors to Bolivia, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the International Monetary Fund and two members of the U.S. Congress.

All of them, Morales said, are or have been engaged in secret plans to overthrow the government in Bolivia or its Latin American neighbors. He provided few details and no evidence, though he said there were documents showing a former U.S. envoy to Bolivia had conspired with his opponents to overthrow him. "There have always been coups, but there are never any coups in the United States because there is no embassy of the United States in the United States," Morales said.

U.S. officials were expecting fiery rhetoric from Morales, who has built his popularity in part on defiance of Washington and has made similar charges in the past. But the setting — a conference dedicated to promoting cooperation among militaries in the region — made the scene especially strange.

More:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-gates-20101123,0,6629586.story

[Hell Hath No Fury]

2. "...and democracy would improve in the entire region if the United States stopped interfering. "

Amen, Evo, amen.

[Hulk]

7. Good for him. Now, double your security for the rest of your life.

This noble nation doesn't like to give up using our southern neighbors as our "nigger". We've spent the last 200 years pretty much installing puppets and murdering the Latinos we didn't particularly like. We find one that speaks up and tells us to kiss ass....well, you do the math on that one.

It was nice knowing you, President Morales.

[Goldstein1984]

9. Regarding U.N. sanctions against Iran, Gates warned Bolivia

"I think Bolivia needs to be mindful of the number of United Nations Security Council resolutions that have been passed with respect to Iran's behavior."

Funny how the U.S. invalidates the U.N. when it suits its purpose, but then invokes U.N. authority when it suits its purpose.

I don't even say "we" anymore, because the U.S. does everything on behalf of the Few, not the Many.

U.S. workers have more in common with our fellow "peasants" in Bolivia than we have with our own ruling class.

[bongbong]

10. Laugh now Morales!

Laugh now Morales, but in 150 years or so when we're finished liberating the Middle East we're gonna come for you!

[EFerrari]

13. When the left leaning President Lugo was elected in Paraguay,

Evo Morales said, "Welcome to the Axis of Evil!"

LOL