Monday, January 28, 2008

David Scott Palmer's U.S. Relations with Latin America during the Clinton Years

I read David Scott Palmer’s U.S. Relations with Latin America during the Clinton Years: Opportunities Lost or Opportunities Squandered? for a review in The Americas and put in on the side bar. I found it to be a good overview, clearly written and aimed at classroom use (and perhaps policy makers as well). It includes many interviews with key players. I won’t copy my book review for the journal (which I just recently submitted so it won’t appear for a while) but rather will note the issue of historical legacy.

It’s a generally even handed account, but Palmer is mostly critical of the Clinton Administration, leaning more toward the “opportunities squandered” side. Nonetheless, I wonder whether over the long term Clinton’s legacy will be viewed in more positive terms simply because of his successor.

We can rightly criticize him for failing to put together a coherent policy, for bungling the crisis in Haiti, for veering around with Cuba policy, failing to follow up on the Summit of the Americas, and supporting military-led drug policies more than democracy. As Palmer points out, with the end of the Cold War there was an window of opportunity but the administration didn’t take advantage of it.

On the other hand, compared to George W. Bush these deficiencies seem more mild. Clinton’s “haphazard and ad hoc” (p. 63) manner of making decisions is at least preferable to deliberate intimidation and condescension. Even compared to Bush I, who was much more pragmatic than Reagan yet still invaded a Latin American country, the Clinton years can be viewed in a more positive light.

To be sure, this is damning with faint praise but I think is still worth noting. Palmer also discusses the strong U.S. role in negotiating the Ecuador-Peru conflict, working with Mexican officials toward resolution of the peso crisis and also political liberalization, contributing to the Guatemalan peace agreement (and opposition to Jorge Serrano’s attempted autogolpe), and a variety of other issues. Nothing earthshattering, but they should be part of a holistic view of his legacy.

This comes down to judging the administration on its own goals (which Palmer does systematically) and comparatively. Clinton fails more on the former than the latter, and over time I think he will come out looking fairly positive. This is not to excuse his failures—the push for militarization in Colombia is certainly a terrible one—but to put him in some sort of comparative context.

The book is a first step toward defining a legacy of Latin America policy for the Clinton Administration, and certainly more will be forthcoming. This also makes me think of the next U.S. president, who will have a tremendous opportunity to restore badly damaged relations. Will it be squandered?

15 comments:

Paul 10:07 AM  

"..making decisions is at least preferable to deliberate intimidation and condescension."

For example....?

I always hear how Bush destroyed the good will of our noble allies, our heretofore faithful friends, but I never hear the specifics. The way I see it, the Democrats are the ones doing the intimidation and condescension, at least when it comes to Colombia. Good example is Al Gore's disgusting snub of Uribe in Miami last fall.

CNN International,AP, NY Times, and the rest of the media firehose blasts out plenty of propaganda. That doesn't make it necessarily true.

Greg Weeks 10:16 AM  

The 2002 Venezuelan coup is the most prominent example, as the U.S. clearly gave a green light and then recognized the illegal govt. More recently, the U.S. govt openly threatened Chile not to vote for Venezuela's Security Council bid. Also last year Pres. Bush made a major speech blaming Latin America for not giving the U.S. enough credit.

You can feel free to blame the media for what the Bush Administration does, but such an argument is laughable.

Paul 11:03 AM  

"..the U.S. clearly gave a green light and then recognized the illegal govt."

How is that "intimidation and condescension?" They welcomed the temporary riddance of Chavez. So?

"More recently, the U.S. govt openly threatened Chile not to vote for Venezuela's Security Council bid."

Threatened? Like with an invasion? I missed that one.

"Also last year Pres. Bush made a major speech blaming Latin America for not giving the U.S. enough credit."

More of that "intimidation and condescension?" Again, I'm missing the dastardly element here. Besides, Latin America doesn't give the US much credit. Alot of Latin Americans do give us the blame for every malady, on the other hand.

Sorry Greg, but you've offered up some pretty thin gruel for examples. You've bought the spin but haven't provided anything particularly grievous to back it up. I've seen Bush trying to get trade deals passed with various Latin American countries. I've seen him stick by Uribe. I've even seen him look the other way with Vincente Fox. That far, far outweighs any perceived slights you listed.

"You can feel free to blame the media for what the Bush Administration does, but such an argument is laughable."

Not for what Bush does, just the constant propaganda against All Things Bush. My wife lived in Colombia her entire life and heard absolutely nothing good about Bush
until she moved up here a couple yrs ago. She says now she was practically brainwashed.

Greg Weeks 11:20 AM  

Then we disagree.

kelby 1:46 PM  

I think an important issue to look is the current administrations "recycling" of civil servants from the Reagan era...like Otto Reich, Roger Noriega, Negroponte, Elliot Abrams, etc.

These are the guys who carried out the dark side of Reagan's foreign policy in Latin America in the 80s. To give them significant influence over foreign policy again is a huge mistake, & if you dont think its had an impact...look at their activities in the Bush Administration.

Paul 2:04 PM  

"These are the guys who carried out the dark side of Reagan's foreign policy in Latin America in the 80s."

Those are the guys who beat back Communism in Latin America in the '80's. Where's the darkness? You want to list some villains then round up Tom Harkin, Chris Dodd, and John Kerry, among others. They were the ones working on behalf of tyrants like Daniel Ortega.

kelby 3:07 PM  

The darkness is in the human rights record and the subversion of democracy. Iran-contra, School of the Americas, covering up abuses by allied governments, etc.

Oh right, Communism with a capital C. That makes everything cheerio.

An abuse is an abuse whether is comes from communists or capitalists, or anything in between.

Harkin, Dodd, Kerry? What are you, a Swiftboat Veteran for "Truth"?

Justin Delacour 3:17 PM  

Take a cue from Greg, Kelby. Paul is really not worth your time.

Paul 4:14 PM  

"The darkness is in the human rights record and the subversion of democracy."

last I checked, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Panama, to name a few, are actually democracies, and thanks in large part to US policy in the 1980's. What, were you on the other side?


"Harkin, Dodd, Kerry? What are you, a Swiftboat Veteran for "Truth"?"

Well, I am interested in truth, not cliches. http://www.boston.com/globe/nation/packages/kerry/images/day6/01b.htm

Paul 4:16 PM  

ack,,here: http://www.boston.com/globe/nation/packages/kerry/images/day6/01b.htm

Justin Delacour 7:53 PM  

over time I think he will come out looking fairly positive.

To measure Clinton's record against Bush's seems to me to be a rather questionable yardstick for assessing whether Clinton's policies were actually "positive."

Bosque 2:32 AM  

I grew up in Central America during the 70-80's and I can tell you for a certainty Paul is full of crap.

Yeah, El Sal, Nicaragua, and Guatemala are the poorest dayum countries in the region. While the US sold cocaine with the Ochoa family to raise money for weapons, millions of Central Americans were killed in massacres.

Great job!

Bosque 2:33 AM  

What South and Central America do is not the US business .... THOSE ARE NOT YOUR F'NG COUNTRY!!!

Paul 11:41 AM  

Hey Bosque, do you get your information from Justin Delacour's website?

Bosque 8:15 PM  

Do you live in South America?

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