12.31.06 U.S. Senator Harry "cut and run" Reid urged Ecuadorean allies of the USA  to abandon all hope of U.S. Congressional support for free trade, functional democracy, rule of law, and U.S. commercial sector development this past week. Turning his slender back to what were formerly strong U.S. allies, Reid cheerfully signaled the beginning of the end of U.S. support for Andean nations in preference for the authoritarian, monopolistic oil state kleptocracy of Hugo Chavez and his well-funded allies: Bolivia's Evo Morales and Rafael Correa of Ecuador. This is called the "new" pragmatism" in support of "populists."

In what was one of the most insipid of public texts noted in the current El Comercio (below), Reid punctuated the slightest of factors for Andean success: the democratic voting procedures as if this were a new invention however much this has been the norm for almost 30 years. To Reid, this is the only cornerstone needed to proclaim total alliance with the neo- communist aspirations of the totalitarian bloc now formed in the Andes. The Correa-Reid team has rolled up the welcome mat to U.S. involvement in this geo-physically important oil producing Ecuadorean state as U.S. businesses flee the region, finding no support from the "new" U.S. Congress.

Reid's dog and pony show  of an estimated less than 12 hour total `Senatorial work' ( also called a CODEL whose primary goal as reported was a multi-night  25 person shopping adventure under U.S. military and diplomatic security and transport plus luxury retreat for family and friends in Peru at the most lavish of $1000 a night resorts), heavily scripted by "ngos" and US AID activists coupled with Ecuador's highly paid Washington, D.C. lobbyist efforts as well as U.S. ambassador Linda "we are with you totally, Rafael" Jewell, was in lock step with the determinedly anti-US actors in the Andean region who have enjoyed their recent successes in establishing disinformation campaigns regarding U.S. foreign policy and U.S. commercial interests.

Senator Reid is a well known apologist for huge centrist government, generically rejects free trade, cavorts with anti-globalization groups ( whatever that means), and is no friend to law and order or the U.S. military, heavily influenced as he remains, by far Left "political" contributors and script writer-advisors. Harry Reid may soon join the ranks of Jimmy Carter as one of America's Funniest Home Defenders of Foreign Dictators. With gay abandon, Reid et al (between shopping excursions) expressed tacit solidarity with Rafael Correa's proclamations that Ecuador will cease to exist as a sovereign democratic Republic, gaily accelerating their new Cabinet-wide enthusiasm for theft from U.S. oil companies, and will perforce morph into an illegitimate non-democratic narcoterror and oil monopoly support zone with Hugo Chavez, operating outside all acceptable international financial and legal norms.

We commend Investor's Business Daily (also below) on their 12-28-06 preliminary report on Reid's shopping and spa event: his Anti-U.S., Abandon All Hope, Neo-communist-Unity Tour illicitly funded by unsuspecting U.S. taxpayers. The IBD notes, "We don't think Reid is unaware of the nature of these thugs [Morales and Correa]. He seems to be seeking liaisons with America's nastiest antagonists....What they want now is to pursue anti-U.S. agendas, strings-free, and that makes Reid's visit useful." Indeed. Without so much as a by your leave from the Republicans, the U.S. government/Department of State and their real employers- the U.S. tax payers, Reid et al rashly acted in loco diplomacy and gave Morales and Correa the blessings of the "new" shopping mall and resort diplomats - the "new" Democrats- to undo support for U.S. foreign policies and stand against its own allies in the "new" undemocratic Bolivarian "alternate" world.

Contrary to printed media claims by both U.S. ambassador Jewell and her friend, Senator "cut and run" Reid, we seriously doubt that President Bush applauds or approves these determined and illicit anti-U.S. activities were he to finally escape from the current informational brown out underway by his own employees. Bush may want to begin by reviewing the 12-29-06 love fest reception for Harry Reid hosted by U.S. ambassador Linda "we are with you, Rafael" Jewell in honor of the Rafael Correa promotional and unity tour, paid for unwittingly by U.S. taxdollars to seductively entrance support for the Correa anti-U.S. agenda. Do any seriously believe that any will stand against the Hugo Chavez-cloned fake constitutions underway in Bolivia and Ecuador?



- Pedro Camargo for ECrisis
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El Comercio; Quito  12-31-06
EE.UU. respeta la decisión de Correa sobre "la Base" de Manta

Quito, AP, Redacción Política

Estados Unidos respeta la elección del presidente electo, Rafael Correa, expresó  el viernes anterior el senador demócrata Harry Reid, al tiempo en que ratificó la decisión de su país de extender un acuerdo de preferencias arancelarias a las naciones andinas.

También mencionó  que su país  respetará la decisión de las nuevas autoridades de no renovar un convenio para el uso estadounidense de "la Base Aérea" de Manta.

Reid preside la delegación de senadores de EE.UU. que llegó al país el viernes pasado y que permanecerá hasta hoy. Previamente, estuvieron en Bolivia y después de Ecuador partirán hacia  Perú.

La misión se reunió durante más de una hora con Rafael Correa y parte de su Gabinete designado.

Consultado sobre el futuro de Ecuador respecto a "la Ley" de Preferencias Arancelarias Andinas por "la Lucha Antidrogas" (Atpdea)  y tomando en cuenta que Correa anunció que no firmará una Tratado de Libre Comercio (TLC) con EE.UU., Reid se limitó a decir que “el Presidente de EE.UU. (George W. Bush) quiere extender este acuerdo, de hecho, en el último período de sesiones tuvimos apenas dos miembros que realmente retardaron un poco esa posición”. “Reiteramos la idea de que eso se va a hacer”, aseguró Reid.

Con base en esos diálogos, Rafael Correa también se mostró optimista de una eventual extensión de "la Atpdea" más allá de los seis meses que recién fueron aprobados. El Congreso de EE.UU. renovó hasta junio del 2007 la vigencia de "la Atpdea" por el que miles de rubros de Ecuador, Colombia, Perú y Bolivia entran al mercado norteamericano, con la condición de que se concreten un TLC.

Al respecto, Correa señaló que la ampliación de "la Atpdea" “no puede estar condicionada a nada, pero aún a la firma de un tratado comercial”. La respuesta del Presidente electo fue más allá. Incluso sugirió que los beneficios arancelarios, que nacieron como un apoyo a la lucha contra el narcotráfico, duren lo que “dure esa lucha”.

Por su parte, Reid dijo que “desde mi perspectiva el Ecuador ha cumplido ya con todos los requisitos que tenía que cumplir para la extensión de las preferencias arancelarias”, aunque no precisó qué ocurrirá después de junio.

La declaración de esta senador demócrata se reviste de importancia teniendo en cuenta que desde el 3 de enero próximo, su partido asumirá el control de "la Cámara Baja" y los Senadores en sus país. Ello, después que el partido Republicano fuera derrotado en las elecciones del 17 de noviembre anterior y los demócratas se hicieron con la mayoría legislativa. Ese aspecto fue destacado por Correa que señaló que los demócratas son contrarios a los TLC, punto que coincide con el suyo.

Respecto a si con la visita de los senadores  de EE.UU. se desvanecían los temores de que Ecuador podría incorporarse al subjetivo  eje Venezuela-Cuba-Bolivia, por la amistad que mantienen Correa y el mandatario venezolano Hugo Chávez, Reid explicó  que los ecuatorianos “tienen derecho de escoger el líder que quieran escoger a través de las elecciones justas y democráticas”.

“Estas elecciones han tenido lugar y el Presidente ha sido elegido, nosotros respetamos los deseos de los ciudadanos de Ecuador.  En EE.UU. se  apoyan las elecciones justas y democráticas”, agregó.

Bajo ese contexto, el senador expresó que “el diálogo ha comenzado, creo que es el inicio de una mejor relación entre los dos países”.

Además de Reid, a la reunión con Correa, que se efectuó en el Swisotel de Quito,  se sumaron los senadores  demócratas Richard Durbin, Kent Conrad y Ken Salazar y los republicanos Judd Gregg y Robert Bennett.

La delegación de EE.UU. viajó ayer a las poblaciones de  Otavalo y Cotacachi, en la provincia de Imbabura, para reunirse con dirigentes locales y autoridades.

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Harry's Inca Hoots
INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY
Posted 12/28/2006
Leadership: Harry Reid has blown off President Ford's funeral because it would be "hard to cancel" his meetings with South America's leaders or put off his junket to Inca ruins. How's that for class?

Reid's visit to a tourist site in Peru, instead of presenting himself as the next Senate Majority Leader at a rare state funeral, shows how little respect he has for Gerald Ford, a good man whose presidency was marked by his willingness to put duty to country first in an effort to heal a wounded nation.

Not so Reid, who put his own agenda above the presidency or the nation's need to bid farewell to its passing leader.

This is no small thing. Reid is the incoming leader of the Senate in a political shift his party insists will mend partisan differences. But already he is showing he is no leader.
If his trek to the Inca ruins isn't distasteful enough, Reid's political ends based on this trip make it even worse.

Instead of paying his last respects to Gerald Ford, he's paying his respects to two of the most anti-American leaders in the region.

His likely reason is to leverage their animosity against the U.S. to use against President Bush. Reid claims relations "need improving." So, instead of supporting U.S. allies, he makes common cause with Ecuador's president-elect Rafael Correa, who showed how much he values America by calling President Bush "a dim bulb."

Reid also is visiting Bolivia's president, Evo Morales, whose power grabs have driven his nation to the brink of civil war. Morales shows his desire for good U.S. relations by aligning with Fidel Castro when he isn't shouting "death to Yanquis" at rallies.
Both now show a determination to backslide in the war on drugs, something that directly will harm the U.S. This week Correa said he would shut a tiny 300-man U.S. drug-fighting base in Manta.

Morales meanwhile, announced he has just expanded coca cultivation, which he snickeringly will tell Reid is to be for local use.

We don't think Reid is unaware of the nature of these thugs. He seems to be seeking liaisons with America's nastiest antagonists.

Reid says his junket can't be put off because it will be difficult to reschedule. But that's baloney. South Americans have been saying for a long time that the U.S. neglects them and no one ever visits. We find it hard to believe any nation wouldn't reschedule him.

Peru, the only U.S. friend Reid is visiting, would reschedule Reid out of simple propriety first, but also because it urgently needs to persuade know-nothings like Reid of Peru's need for free trade.

Bolivia and Ecuador would make time for Reid because they want more cash from the U.S. Already Bolivia has sent its vice president to the U.S. twice, seeking it. What they want now is to pursue anti-U.S. agendas, strings-free, and that makes Reid's visit useful.
Presidential funerals are rare events that put aside partisan differences in a rare symbolic display of national unity. Reid's tourist junket and selfish priorities show that he's well beneath his Senate office. It also shows a lack of human decency.