Obama Administration Needs To Work With Latin America

By Kayleigh Harvey - Talk Radio News Service

Sergio Bendixen, President of Bendixen and Associates; Dr Cynthia McClintock, Professor of political science and international affairs, and director of the Latin America and Hemispheric Studies Program at George Washington University, Eric Farnsworth, Vice-president of the Council of Americas and Ray Walser, senior policy analyst for Latin America in The Heritage Foundation's Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy studies, gave testimonies today before the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere.

The witnesses created a lot of attention, with people lining up outside to hear the testimonies on "U.S. Policy Toward Latin America in 2009 and Beyond".

Congressman Gregory Meeks (D-NY), said: "You can tell by the way the room is filled today the interest in the Western Hemisphere".

Subcommittee Chairman Eliot Engel (D-NY) opened the hearing by welcoming Congressman Connie Mack (R-FL) as the committee's new Ranking Member and then outlined some positive steps he would like the Obama administration to pursue.

"First and foremost, I believe that President Obama's participation in April's Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago would send an extremely positive message to the heads of the state from Latin America, to the Caribbean. Second, as Chairman Berman moves forward with foreign aid reform and the Obama administration prepares its FY 2010 budget, it is essential that we increase funding for countries in the Western Hemisphere...Third, cooperation between the US and Brazil significantly expanded during the Bush Administration. This relationship needs to be further deepened under President Obama...Fourth, we must continue to support our friends in Mexico through the Merida Initiative...Fifth, I would urge President Obama to focus on Ecuador and Paraguay...and sixth, we must continue to support disaster recovery efforts in Haiti", Engel said.

Chairman Engel then went on to discuss the attacks in a synagogue in Caracus, Venezuela.

"On Monday, I sent a letter, along with 19 of my colleagues, to President Chavez urging him to end the bullying and harassment of the Jewish community in Venezuela and to extend the community the robust protection it deserves in light of the threats it faces. The Venezuelan government must quickly change its tune with regard to the country's Jewish community".

Dr McClintock said: "In Lationobarometer surveys between 2000 and 2005, approval ratings of the United States fell by more than 20 points in Ecuador, Chile, Brazil and Bolivia; more than 30 points in Mexico and Uruguay; and more than 40 points in Argentina, Paraguay, and Venezuela".

Ray Walser commented on America's dependence on the oil industry, with Congressman Ron Klein (D-FL) backing up his argument and stated that America needs to stop "buying oil from a country {Venezuela} that is hostile to our interests".

The committee also discussed the American economy and its ability to assist Latin American countries. Sergio Bendixen said: "We need to be realistic. Not only about what our friends want but what Latin America wants...we have economic limitations".

Other issues the committee discussed were the desires from the Obama administration, the April 2009 summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, human rights in Cuba, immigration, drugs control and free trade.

Eric Farnsworth suggested in his testimony that Brazil and Mexico should be allowed to join the G8. "Listening to Latin America is important...the rest of the hemisphere also has good ideas".

Chairman Engel said: "We cannot ignore our own backyard".

The committee hearing ended after 120 minutes as Congress was called to vote.

NATO “playing not to lose” in Afghanistan

Eric Farnsworth, the Vice President of the Council of the Americas, led a discussion on NATO’s evolving role in Afghanistan at The Woodrow Wilson Center. Farnsworth said that NATO’s mission in Afghanistan is of great importance and failure to stabilize the country would not only undermine the credibility of the NATO alliance, but would also threaten international security by allowing Afghanistan to emerge as a safe haven for terrorist organizations and the narcotics trade. Farnsworth also said that Canada has been a major contributor to NATO’s effort, particularly securing the “war-torn” southern region of Afghanistan.

Pamela Wallin, a member of the Independent Panel on Canada’s Future Role in Afghanistan and the Senior Advisor of the Council of the Americas, explained that Canada has a long-standing tradition of peacekeeping efforts and concern for world affairs. She said that Canada went into Afghanistan as a country right after the 9-11 attacks took place, and have been there ever since. The Canadian government has released its next response when dealing with Afghanistan which keeps their troops in the country until 2011. Wallin said that this new plan has a focused approach on dealing with the problems in Afghanistan, one with benchmarks to “judge what victory looks like.”

Joel Sokolsky, the Dean of Arts and Professor of Political Science at the Royal Military College of Canada, said that there is a major change in how Canada is now perceived within NATO. Sokolsky explained that Canada was always known as a peace keeping nation and cut back their defense spending during the 1990s. The perception of Canada as a “laggard” has been changed with a shift in focus and a raised structure of armed forces.

Thomas Lynch, a Colonel of the U.S. Army and a Federal Executive Fellow at the Brookings Institution, explained that Canada needs to “play not to lose” in Afghanistan. He said that NATO is a big influence on the country and needs to focus on helping Afghanistan move forward. Lynch also said that NATO needs to strengthen its commitment to Afghanistan and not move out like the Americans did.