Posted on 05/11/2005 3:53:53 PM PDT by La Enchiladita
WASHINGTON, May 11, 2005 – Six presidents of Latin American nations met with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and other senior officials at the Pentagon today.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and the presidents of six Central American countries watch a full military honors pass-in-review arrival ceremony at the Pentagon May 11.
Rumsfeld greeted Nicaraguan President Enrique Bolanos, Honduran President Ricardo Maduro, Costa Rican President Abel Pacheco, Guatemalan President Oscar Berger, President Antonio Saca from El Salvador, and President Leonel Fernandez from the Dominican Republic, when their motorcades arrived at the Pentagon.
Protocol officials said they could not remember the last time so many presidents visited the Pentagon at the same time.
Rumsfeld escorted the six presidents to an Armed Forces Honor Review on the Pentagon's parade field.
The presidents are in the United States to press for the U.S. adoption of the Central American Free Trade Agreement. The U.S. Congress will debate the measure soon, said officials on Capitol Hill.
....
President Bush has pushed for CAFTA as a centerpiece to continued economic improvements in the region and to help strengthen the still fragile democracies. U.S. officials are working to deepen relations with Latin America and the nations of the Caribbean. Many of these nations have made transitions from dictatorships to democracies and continue to strive to improve economically and politically.
(Excerpt) Read more at defenselink.mil ...
Many members of the construction crew at the Pentagon come from Central American nations. After the ceremonies, several of the hard-hatted workers met with their presidents.
THEIR presidents!!! Our President is not THEIR president!
ping
Message:
CAFTA is for our safety!
< /sarcasm>
Bush just keeps pushing it on us.
This is not in our best interests.
Regional governments being formed around TRADE agreements.
national governments submitting to international trade bodies and laws.
Bush's vision of America is not the same as a conservative one.
At least he had his fcc pal bust H. Stern for using offensive speech. And his 'Presidential' response to janet jacksons exposed nipples? Now THAT kind of stuff just proves he is 'one of us!' At least to the ignorant.
I for one, am still waiting on those 'conservative' judges to make it to the floor for a vote. Still waiting on the borders to be secured. Still waiting for the spending requests to be cut. Still waiting for the tax cuts to be made permanent. Still waiting for his 'unforthcoming' apology for calling the minutement 'vigilantes.' Or that Islam is murder, instead of peace. Still waiting for... smaller less intrusive government policies.
Those kind of things just aren't on the horizon.
nor will they be with the 'new democratic party', with the old 'republican' name.
unbelievable.
Donde esta El Presidente Americano?
driving his compadres across the border?
They've come to jump on the gravy train.
Not if they're illegal aliens.
Here's a good article on the Corporate conservatives battle plan:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000086&sid=ap7y7lRLAaIc&refer=latin_america
Bush Turns to National Security to Win Cafta Support
It's Bloomberg so can't be posted here.
They have no good economic arguments for the majority of Americans so talking points are going to be defense and guilt.
Article notes that ex Defense Secretary Cohen is a lobbyist for it.
ping for CAFTA
EVERYONE PLEASE READ THE BLOOMBERG ARTICLE.
The strategery is sickening and cynical.
Yes'm. That's what I meant. There are guys working on the Pentagon who are not U.S. citizens and likely not here legally.
NAFTA, GATT, and CAFTA need to all die.
NAFTA, GATT, and CAFTA need to all die.
------
There is clearly an agenda here (brilliant, right?).
What Bush is setting this country up for is not pretty. Just add the illegal immigrant travesty that is being pushed on us to the pile.
I sure trust many Americans are watching this --- the entire free trade issue is being used for something other than what it was touted to do. Remember that little man who ran for President, that warned us of the GIANT SUCKING SOUND???
To wit:
"Regional governments being formed around TRADE agreements, national governments submitting to international trade bodies and laws." (Robert_Paulson2, post #4)
I miss Jesse Helms bigtime in cases like this.
Overwhelming illegal immigration is a result of the trade agreements. The trade agreements will result in one "trading bloc", read new country, that will contain every country in the western hemisphere. That bloc is what the corporatists are trying to create,and as with the EU, it will require its own currency, constitution, and social agenda. You can bet the agenda won't be free will or liberty for humanity, but a highly controlled socialistic program where the rich peons must raise the standard of living of the poor peons sacrificing their families, their security and their standard of living in the process.
1995: "The Mexicans are takin' ehr JAHBS!"
2005: "The Chinese are takin' ehr JAHBS!"
In all seriousness, Mexico and Central America have lost more jobs over the past decade than they have in their history.
Industrial employment is actually shrinking on a global basis. Competition from China is one part, however, increased automation has made unskilled industrial jobs unnecessary in many cases.
Write to congress.Even if s/he doesn't belong to the same party you do, you all have got to write! Its really bad this congressman opposes CAFTA because it doesn't follow UN labor protocol the ILO. But his response just shows you how badly this country's leadership is messed up (the UN is more important than US citizens to this man)
My congressman said this:
Thank you for writing me about the Dominican Republic- Central
American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA). As you may
know, the United States Trade Representative signed CAFTA in
December 2003 and the Administration has sent formal notice to
Congress of the President's intent to enter into this Agreement.
The Administration and the Republican Leadership did not bring
CAFTA up for a vote in the 108th Congress though because they
recognized that the trade agreement did not have enough votes to
pass. CAFTA will most likely come up for a vote in late May or
early June.
I strongly oppose DR-CAFTA and will vote against the bill that
would implement this trade agreement. I support trade policies
that are based on fairness and build a healthy US economy. I
believe that trade can bring about economic prosperity for
participating countries if trade agreements are properly written and
include strong labor and environmental provisions. DR-CAFTA
fails to include sufficiently appropriate standards for labor laws
(the agreement does not include the widely accepted labor code of
the ILO) and it fails to provide appropriate environmental
provisions. Additionally, the economies of these countries are tiny
and provide little opportunities for Central Coast exporters. DR-
CAFTA fails on several counts to meet my standards for an
effective and just trade agreement and I will NOT support this
agreement when it comes to the House floor for a vote.
Thank you very much for your letter, and please feel free to contact me regarding trade or any other federal issue. Sincerely,
Sam Farr
Member of Congress, CA-17
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