yes he is, to wit:
| Submit your comments on this article | |
| Caribbean-Latin America | |
| Bolivia Leader May Reject U.S. Aid | |
| 2005-12-28 | |
| LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) - President-elect Evo Morales will reject U.S. economic and military aid if the United States requires continued coca-eradication efforts to get the money, a close aide to the former coca growers' leader said Tuesday. Morales also plans to withdraw Bolivia's military from anti-drug efforts and leave the job to police, said Juan Ramon Quintana, a member of the Morales' transition team. Morales, who won Bolivia's presidency Dec. 18 with a decisive 54 percent of the vote, campaigned on promises to stand up to the U.S. on the coca issue and the eradication of coca plantations. Coca eradication is a condition for aid from the United States, which gave Bolivia $91 million in 2005. The decision was made "mainly for reasons of sovereignty," said Quintana, who described Bolivia's Special Force to Fight Drug Trafficking as "an appendix" of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
The United States also has congratulated Morales on his victory and said that relations between their countries will depend in large part on whether the president-elect respects democratic norms. A U.S. embassy spokesman said Tuesday that there would be no official comment on the announcement that Bolivia will forego financial aid that comes with anti-drug strings attached. Bolivia's national police commander, Gen. David Aramayo, acknowledged that the United States offers "important support" in the coca-eradication campaign, but insisted that his force has been ultimately responsible for the drug unit. Morales once wrote on his Web site, "Thanks to coca, we've made it through the endless suffering caused by the white man's infamous war on drugs." But he's also made a point of saying he'll crack down on cocaine trafficking while protecting the plant's traditional uses. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #18 Aris, I owe you an apology - I didn't read down all the way to yours. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2005-12-28 19:35 |
| #17 ...I'm now a true Rantburger - I've been slammed, for no apparent reason, by Aris. Lad, you have a long way to go. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2005-12-28 19:34 |
| #16 Mark E, I've heard far far worse. Just in the other thread someone called Cassini "Cassinifascist" for no reasonable definition of fascist that one could perceive -- did you object to that? Nonetheless my sincere apologies to Mike Kozlowski. Rude behaviour by others doesn't justify my own arbitrary rudeness, especially against people who haven't (AFAIR) insulted so. |
| Posted by: Aris Katsaris 2005-12-28 17:23 |
| #15 "My brain hurts. It would." In re: the above quote: You are a jerk. |
| Posted by: Mark E. 2005-12-28 17:03 |
| #14 RD, LMAO. |
| Posted by: Omereling Huping4601 2005-12-28 14:47 |
| #13 He's rested, he's tanned, he's back. yes he is, to wit: |
| Posted by: Red Dog 2005-12-28 14:34 |
| #12 He's rested, he's tanned, he's back. |
| Posted by: Omereling Huping4601 2005-12-28 13:36 |
| #11 Morales gets 54% - in an election where massive corruption is ASSUMED as routie - and that's 'decisive', but Dubya gets 51% and the highest number of votes of any candidate in history, but he's 'tainted', 'illegitimate', a 'pretender', etc. The next party in the Bolivian elections got about 29% percent or so. That's a difference of 25%, and can be quite sanely be called a decisive one. Both the Bush-Gore and the Bush-Kerry votes just were 1 or 2 percentage points apart (and I still heard some Republicans say that the Democrats were "crushed" and so forth). My brain hurts. It would. |
| Posted by: Aris Katsaris 2005-12-28 13:29 |
| #10 Mike, In fairness to the prospective totalitarian filthpig Morales, 54% is an historically high total in Bolivian multi-party elections. |
| Posted by: Ernest Brown 2005-12-28 12:57 |
| #9 I need something explained to me: Morales, who won Bolivia's presidency Dec. 18 with a decisive 54 percent of the vote Let me see if I have this straight: Morales gets 54% - in an election where massive corruption is ASSUMED as routie - and that's 'decisive', but Dubya gets 51% and the highest number of votes of any candidate in history, but he's 'tainted', 'illegitimate', a 'pretender', etc. My brain hurts. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2005-12-28 11:52 |
| #8 Threaten to legalize. |
| Posted by: Leon Clavin 2005-12-28 11:11 |
| #7 You can't fire me - I quit! |
| Posted by: Omereting Gloluger7372 2005-12-28 10:11 |
| #6 Release the coca plant fungus. |
| Posted by: ed 2005-12-28 09:16 |
| #5 Great. A funding source for the border fence. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2005-12-28 09:15 |
| #4 Lets cut the aid, fire all the USAID workers there, killing two birds with one stone, and invest the money into our borders. |
| Posted by: 49 pan 2005-12-28 08:12 |
| #3 CUBA's Castro should be ecstatic - PRAVDA quotes him as criticizing CONDI RICE and assuring that any alleged US-led "democratic transition" for Cuba will fail. The interesting thing about the PRAVDA article was that Fidel insists that Cuba's, Bolivia's and Venezuela's resistance ags America are evidence OF A CUBA = WORLD MOVING TOWARDS SOCIALISM AND ULTIMATELY COMMUNISM, NOT AGAINST THESE - dare Fidel be telling PRAVDA what American pols-Demolefties are NOT to their own people or voters? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2005-12-28 03:33 |
| #2 Morales once wrote on his Web site, "Thanks to coca, we've made it through the endless suffering caused by the white man's infamous war on drugs." But he's also made a point of saying he'll crack down on cocaine trafficking Then his lips fell off. |
| Posted by: twobyfour 2005-12-28 00:49 |
| #1 I'm sure it'll break the Americans hearts. |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2005-12-28 00:29 |