U.S. needs to end 'imperial attitude,' Bolivian says

[Judi Lynn]

U.S. needs to end 'imperial attitude,' Bolivian says
David Mercado / Reuters

"The U.S. has a very urgent task ahead of it, which is to recover its moral values so that we can believe in it again as leader of the free world," says former Bolivian President Carlos Mesa.
Former Bolivian President Carlos Mesa has some advice for Obama, starting with the closing of Guantanamo and lifting of the embargo on Cuba.

By Chris Kraul
February 4, 2009

Reporting from La Paz, Bolivia -- To mend U.S.-Latin American relations, President Obama must first recover the moral authority the U.S. has lost with its operation of the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, says former Bolivian President Carlos Mesa.

Mesa has a unique perspective on U.S.-Latin American relations as a former news reporter, historian, U.S. cinephile and Bolivia's president from 2003 to 2005. He said he expects to run for the presidency again later this year against incumbent Evo Morales.

~snip~
But the most dramatic break from U.S. moral logic occurred with President George W. Bush, who after Sept. 11 totally lost his way in terms of U.S. moral values. Based on my conversations in Latin America, Guantanamo seems to resonate more deeply here than even among U.S. citizens.

It was a dramatic and possibly unique point in history -- the U.S. renouncing the application of the rule of law. That's the essence of what the U.S. has defended as the great model in its competition with communism and now terrorism. That's what I demand of Obama -- that he recovers this criterion. You can't give classes on morals if you're not applying them in your own territory.

More:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mesa-qa4-2009feb04,0,7241256.story?track=rss