Rice heads to Chile to improve US standing

[Judi Lynn]

Rice heads to Chile to improve US standing
Thu Mar 9, 2006 1:15 PM ET

By Sue Pleming
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice heads to Chile on Friday for the inauguration of its first woman president, in a region where Washington has dwindling allies and leftist leaders are on the rise.

During her two-day trip to Chile, Rice will hold a host of meetings with Latin American leaders, including Bolivia's President Evo Morales, a coca farmer with close ties to communist Cuba and Venezuela who has described himself as a "nightmare" for Washington.
(snip)

Part of the problem, said Birns, was that the United States viewed Latin America through the prism of Cuba and Venezuela, adding that if it was Rice's goals to win support among Latin American leaders to isolate Chavez, she would be disappointed.

"He (Chavez) is popular because he needles the United States and he talks like the average Latin American would talk," said Birns.
(snip/...)

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-03-09T181437Z_01_N07474569_RTRUKOC_0_US-LATAM-RICE.xml&archived=False

[BlueInPhilly]

1. And why again do we send Condi

if the objective is to improve US' image?

[saigon68]

7. SHE'S GOING TO BREAK A FEW MIRRORS

With her lovely smile

[coalition_unwilling]

10. I hope she takes Kissinger with her (eom)

[saigon68]

13. He can't go

He is still busy pulling his head out of his ass

[coalition_unwilling]

14. Would that be an "exit strategy"?

[EuroObserver]

25. He can't go, he would be arrested. n/t

[MadMaddie]

2. Well I guess we can kiss those relationships goodbye!!

Bye..Bye...

[Up2Late]

3. Oh God NO! Her trips rarely do good...

...I wish they all would just stay home and stop waisting so much Jet fuel!

[savemefromdumbya]

4. Will she come back alive?

going into shark infested waters?:evilgrin:

[ixion]

5. yeah, good luck with that, Condi

you've got such a great track record, second only, perhaps, to Karen "I'm an idiot" Hughes.

[henslee]

6. I love rice with chili.

[Bacchus39]

16. haha me too

n/t

[Just Me]

8. She's gonna' try to improve relations with another country we destroyed?

Oh, stawp!!! :eyes:

[Earth_First]

9. Just what I need while my father is in Buenos Aires...

Are hated U.S. government officials in South America

on edit: spelling

[Jack Rabbit]

11. One of these day, Interpol officers will greet her at the airport

I can't wait.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

12. The sweet irony is...

If they sent Bill Clinton, it could work.

[cliss]

15. Well, Washington can scratch this one off as a complete

failure. Washington is truly getting desperate. While their fixation was on Iraq and the Middle East, Central & South America took a sharp Left Turn.

Rice thinks she can do some arm-twisting because Chile's new leader is a woman. .....NOT.
- - - - - - - -
SANTIAGO, Chile --President-elect Michelle Bachelet, a socialist who was jailed and tortured by Chile's military junta, began putting together her administration Monday while promising to give all Chileans a voice -- and a better deal.

"Because I was the victim of hatred, I have dedicated my life to reverse that hatred and turn it into understanding, tolerance and -- why not say it -- into love," she said after her victory in Sunday's runoff election against a conservative businessman.
- - - - - -
Ms. Bachelet has nothing in common with the Bush Junta. Rice is wasting her time. She'll come home in tears.

[eppur_se_muova]

20. Why not send Cheney? He's our torture expert. They could swap anecdotes.

It would be nice to see a US leader finding common ground for a change.:evilgrin:

[MisterP]

17. maybe they can show Condi THEIR torture and rape rooms,

but Pinochet and Rauff and Schäfer were their friends at the time.
Maybe Bachelet can show Eva Braun her room, or the one where her father was tortured to death. Rice could even make a few vapid remarks!

[Barrett808]

18. Too bad they're not sending Karen Hughes

People just love it when she comes to visit.

[mitchtv]

27. send Kissinger

We need a trial

[eppur_se_muova]

19. Isn't that title an oxymoron?

Or did they send her to Chile to improve relations with, say, Argentina?

[0007]

21. That's kind of a joke isn't it? Has Condi improved conditions

anywhere. She has a habit of pissing people off.

One area where there was also suspicion was Washington's own handling of human rights issues, particularly following the abuse by U.S. soldiers of prisoners in Iraq and detainees held at a U.S. Naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

"All of a sudden, Latin America is saying that the U.S. is not playing by the same rules as everyone else and this provokes an underlying distrust of the U.S

[EuroObserver]

26. All of a sudden??? n/t

[movonne]

22. That will really improve our realations with Chile..I hope they tell

her to go fuck herself..I'm sure they will love her like we do here..

[DrDan]

23. I thought this was Karen Hughes job

[Betsy Ross]

24. Laughing too hard to read the story. n/t

[Judi Lynn]

28. Kick!

:kick: :kick: :kick:

[Thor_MN]

29. It would improve our standing almost worldwide, if we sent all the Neocons

to Chile and left them there.

Idle dream, though, polluting on that scale goes past criminal... Imagine the NIMBY rage it would provoke if we announced that we were seeking a disposal site for the Neocons and PNAC.