Romney: Obama Timid Defender of Freedom

By Leah Valencia
University of New Mexico - Talk Radio News Service

Mitt Romney doesn’t like the way President Obama is doing business. The former Massachusetts governor and 2008 U.S. Presidential candidate, said that Obama’s mild approach to foreign affairs will create a rift between America and it’s allies.

“I think the President is indicating that he is a reluctant and timid defender of freedom,” Romney said Monday to hundreds at a forum hosted by the Foreign Policy Initiative and held at the W Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Romney serves as the Honorary Chairman of the Free and Strong America PAC. He said the Obama administration is leading America toward a position of neutrality where it will no longer be the the world’s leading “defender of Democracy”. The forum comes in the wake of Obama’s decision to cancel the European Missile Defense System.

“Not surprisingly, this has come to the dismay of our allies who believe they can no longer depend on the U.S.,” Romney said. “The American image should be represented by it’s ability to have substantial military might... and Obama is jeopardizing that power.”

Romney, a potential 2012 Republican presidential candidate, recently finished second among conservative voters in a straw poll ballot in the 2009 Values Voters Summit held on Sept. 19. The former governor did not say whether he will run, but said voters will decide the direction the country will take in the 2010 Congressional elections.

Has The World Rushed To Judgment On Honduran Coup?

By Courtney Ann Jackson-Talk Radio News Service

By attempting to run for reelection, did ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya’s violate his country's constitution? On Friday, representatives from seven Latin American organizations testified before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Western Hemisphere Subcommittee to discuss the question.

Certain members of the committee were adamant in their view that Zelaya's actions had, in fact, crossed constitutional boundaries.

“I think it was clear that virtually all major Honduran political institutions and actors opposed President Zelaya’s efforts. Not only were the Supreme Court, Congress, and Zelaya’s own Attorney General against him, even members of his own political party and the influential Catholic Church were hostile to Zelaya’s efforts to change the constitution,” said Committee Chairman Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y).

Cynthia Arnson, Director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars' Washington Office on Latin America, noted that Zelaya's actions should serve as a “wake-up call” that further progress to advance democracy in Latin America is still needed.

Rep. Connie Mack (R-Fla.), the committee's ranking member, said, “It seems to me that the more we look at Mr. Zelaya, the more we find a man who believes he is above the law, untouchable, and clearly a man who has no respect for democracy.”

Guillermo Perez-Cadalso, former Foreign Minister and Honduran Supreme Court Justice, said he believes the international community rushed to judgement over the coup before evaluating all the facts. He testified under the title of “Concerned Honduran Citizen" rather than using his official government title.

Perez-Cadalso argued that Zelaya was “legally and constitutionally removed from office,” and that the “military is not in charge of Honduras; the consitutional order of [the country] remains intact.”

The U.S. State Department headed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has endorsed a dialogue process with the Organization of American States. On that subject, Perez-Cadalso noted, “I am optimistic that this situation can be resolved through the dialogue. This process will be successful if both sides refrain from emotional personal reactions and stick to constructive discussions about the issues.”

Beijing's chance to open up to the world clouded with smog

"My hope is for some enlightened leader at the top within China to bring reform about," said Elizabeth Economy, a writer for Foreign Affairs. She and Adam Segal spoke with Gideon Rose, the managing editor of Foreign Affairs Journal, about an article they co-wrote which argues that the Olympics have become a staging ground for domestic and international protests against China's record on human rights, the environment, and even food safety. They also discussed the likelihood that the Olympic games will bring about change within China.

Economy said that the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games were supposed to be a coming out party for China, allowing it to open its doors to the world. However, she said, the Games have not been the transformative event the nation had hoped for, with rising criticism of its smoggy cities, restrictions on internet use, and infrastructure requirements.

Segal gave the example of Chinese taxis that have been equipped with microphones. He said that while some believe the instruments were installed to spy on people and repress them, he agreed with the government's statement that the microphones were put in place to control dangerous protests. Events like these have drawn immense global criticism, according to Segal.

Both Segal and Economy stated expectations of reform within the nation as a result of the games, and hope that the change would come from within the government itself.

Former USSR upcoming oil source

Noting Americans’ concern about oil prices, the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee met to discuss energy potential in the Central Asian states. Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) said that Central Asia is strategic to US energy security. In his submitted statement, Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) said that Central Asian states would benefit by lessening their reliance on Russia and increasing trade relations with Europe and North America.

Lugar stated that finishing the East-West corridor, a pipeline that would carry oil from the Caspian Sea region to European markets, should become a priority of the transatlantic community. He advocated increasing diplomacy with Kazakhstan, supporting democratic transitions in the region, and linking energy from the Caspian Sea with Central Europe directly.

Zbigniew Brzezinski, former national security adviser to President Carter, attended the hearing to discuss US relations with Russia. Brzezinski spoke of a long-term relationship between North America, Europe, and Russia, a relationship he characterized as “Vancouver to Vladivostok.” In this agreement, Brzezinski said that both sides would benefit; Russia would provide energy resources while Europe and North America would supply the necessary infrastructure. Brzezinski said that Russia’s desire to maintain a monopoly on Central Asia and repeatedly cutting energy to the Baltic states damage the potential of this relationship.

Brzezinski also spoke briefly on US relations with Iran. Brzezinski said that the US must recognize Iran’s energy potential, stating that Iran’s government is losing support among its modern and sophisticated youth. Brzezinski added that a military conflict with Iran would not only be extraordinarily destabilizing to the United States in the short run, but that it would also cause the US to become caught in conflict over a large region stretching from Iraq to Pakistan.