WikiLeaks Haiti Cables Paint Stark Picture of U.S. Priorities

[marmar]

from AlterNet:



WikiLeaks Haiti Cables Paint Stark Picture of U.S. Priorities


In 1,918 new cables released by WikiLeaks, the United States' relationship to Haiti is laid bare—the maneuvering, the pressure, and the arrogance. The Nation is partnering with the Haitian weekly newspaper Haïti Liberté to produce several reports based on these cables, illuminating some of the many facets of this complex geopolitical struggle.

In the two pieces published today, journalists dig into Big Oil's losing fight in Haiti and the U.S. state department's support for sweatshop wages in the Haitian textile factories.

Despite acknowledgement of Haiti's “desperate” situation, the U.S. government, along with oil companies ExxonMobil and Texaco/Chevron, tried to sabotage a deal for Haiti to join Venezuela's oil alliance, PetroCaribe, and receive Venezuelan oil at lowered prices. The deal would've laid groundwork for Haitian energy independence—something the U.S. didn't want. ........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/603975/wikileaks_haiti_cables_paint_stark_picture_of_u.s._priorities/

[Luminous Animal]

1. Link to the Nation's Big Oil article below...

http://www.thenation.com/article/161056/petrocaribe-files?page=0,2

It's well worth reading.

They've taken down the sweatshop wage article and said that they will republish that one on June 8th.

The extraordinary story that the Haiti WikiLeaks cables tell of the US Embassy’s campaign against PetroCaribe—which provides such obvious benefits for Haiti—lays bare the real priorities of “Haiti's most important and reliable bi-lateral partner,” as Sanderson calls the United States.

As for Préval and his officials, the cables indicate that, faced with Washington’s might, they employed a preferred form of Haitian resistance, dating back to slavery, known as “marronage,” where you pretend to go along with something but do the opposite. This dynamic of US pressure and subtle Haitian pushback has persisted under the Obama administration, which has moved to marginalize Préval’s INITE political party in favor of new president Michel Martelly and his group of pro-American Haitian business supporters.

Under President Martelly, the fate of PetroCaribe remains unclear. But those who appreciate what the program has done for Haiti see reason to worry. While Préval tried to walk the battle-line between Washington and the ALBA alliance, Martelly had a pre-inauguration meeting not with the foreign minister of Venezuela, but that of Colombia, whose US-oriented neoliberal development plan he has said he will emulate.

[Luminous Animal]

2. Kick.

[malaise]

3. Thanks for this

No surprise
K & R

[Luminous Animal]

4. Kick again for the important stuff.

I wish we had a scandal of the day forum and a Palin dungeon. It's tedious hiding all those posts in order to make General Discussion look like a relevant discussion forum.

[Ignis]

5. Kicking to show the timeline. Can't believe this sank so badly.

Today: http://www.cjr.org/the_audit/a_pulled_scoop_shows_us_booste.php
Today: http://www.businessinsider.com/wikileaks-haiti-minimum-wage-the-nation-2011-6

[Vanje]

6. kick,n nt