Friday, October 30, 2009

Letting the Wolf Guard the Chickens

Well, our foreign policy establishment got what they wished by bullying little Honduras into risking their democracy:

Representatives of ousted President Manuel Zelaya finally reached an agreement with the interim government that could help end the monthslong dispute over Honduras' June 28 coup, and possibly pave the way for Zelaya's reinstatement.


Zelaya is happy, of course:

"We are optimistic because Hondurans can reach agreements that are fulfilled," Zelaya told Radio Globo, an opposition station. "This signifies my return to power in the coming days, and peace for Honduras."


Bizarrely, we apparently celebrate this as a victory:

The agreement, if it holds, could represent a much-needed foreign policy victory for the United States, which dispatched a senior team of diplomats to coax both sides back to the table.


I fear we can look forward to many more such victories in the next three years.

Oh, by the by, the Library of Congress refuses to recant its legal analysis that states Zelaya was properly removed although exiling him was outside the law.

I'm sure our State Department will really pop the champagne when Zelaya calls on his Venezuelan and Nicaraguan buddies to keep him in office at gunpoint after the November elections are over.

UPDATE: Ok, the title should be something on the order of foxes guarding the hen house, but give me a break. I was born and raised in Detroit. Squirrels and small grey birds are all I know.

UPDATE: The Wall Street Journal thinks that there is no way Zelaya will be allowed back into office and that this is a victory for the Hondurans and a way for our administration to claim victory and back away from supporting Zelaya over democracy.

I hope so. If the Honduran legislature refuses to reinstate Zelaya, will our State Department continue to support the deal?