| http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30443-2001Jul7.html
Contra-Intuitive By Mary McGrory Sunday, July 8, 2001; Page B01 Elliott Abrams was no great shakes on human rights when he was assistant secretary of state for Latin American affairs in Ronald Reagan's State Department. It became clear that Abrams's view of human rights was limited to saving Latin Americans from communism. In saving themselves from terrors imposed by uniformed dictators subsidized by the Reagan regime, they were on their own. Abrams was the pit bull for the administration's "better dead than red" policy on Central America. Despite his record, George W. Bush is giving him another chance. He has named him senior director of the National Security Council's office for democracy, human rights and international operations. The appointment signifies a step beyond Bush's in-your-face selections for Latin America. This one is in your eye, a signal to the right wing that there is nothing he will not do for it. Choosing Abrams makes laughable Bush's promise of increased civility and bipartisanship. Ditto his claims of being "a uniter, not a divider." Members of Congress remember Abrams's snarling appearances at committee hearings, defending death squads and dictators, denying massacres, lying about illegal U.S. activities in support of the Nicaraguan contras. Abrams sneered at his critics for their blindness and naivete, or called them "vipers." His contempt for Congress was formalized in charges of withholding information from Congress brought by Iran-contra special prosecutor Lawrence Walsh. Abrams evaded questions about a secret mission to extract $10 million in contra funds from the sultan of Brunei, and also about the contra supply plane that was shot down. He pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts, and was pardoned by the First George Bush at Christmas 1992. Congress will get no chance to register an opinion on his qualifications. But, as Robert White, former ambassador to El Salvador, said, "Just because appointments to the NSC are not subject to the advice and consent of the Senate, it does not follow that this key White House agency should be used as a dumping ground and rehabilitation center. Unrepentant former officials who lie to Congress merit ostracism, not inclusion in the highest councils of our government." The Abrams appointment follows two other provocative picks from one of the uglier chapters in American foreign policy. Otto Reich, a darling of the Cuban American Foundation and another Iran-contra figure, ran the Office of Public Diplomacy, a shady operation invented to subvert the Boland Amendment, banning aid to the contras. Bush wants Reich, an extremist of the Abrams stripe, for the job of assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs. His confirmation would send a signal to Latin America that the Reagan hawkishness is to be born again in the region. A third nomination that brings back the Iran-contra scandal is that of John Negroponte as ambassador to the United Nations. He is a different type, having served with distinction in many posts. The blot on his career was his service as ambassador in Honduras at the height of the contra activity, which, of course, was supervised by Oliver North at the White House. He was accused of concealing information about the guerrilla activities. Why is Bush doing all this -- reminding people of the bad old times in Central America, reminding them of the lowest moment of Reagan's presidency? It plainly has nothing to do with his concurrent courtship of Hispanic voters. Some were wretched inhabitants of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua who fled here fleeing the terrorist regimes that a Republican president was keeping in business. If they are grateful for disruption, they will think well of Bush. William Goodfellow, director of the Center for International Policy, a left-of-center think tank that has taken the lead in opposition to Reich, says that Bush was not thinking of Hispanics. He was thinking, says Goodfellow, of Miami Cubans, who see in the Reich appointment a dream come true. Miami Cubans worship such anti-Castro personalities. The choice of Reich evoked vehement opposition on the left. Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) and Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) vowed to fight. The administration backed off for a while, but is now inching forward again to make up for the fact that Bush is unwilling to do Miami Cubans the ultimate favor: to give them the right to sue foreign nations who do business in Cuba on land that was confiscated. Reich's hopes are based on potential support from beneficiaries of Cuban American campaign contributions, like Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), and Robert Torricelli (D-N.J.) and Democrats Bob Graham and Bill Nelson of Florida, who may provide effective counter. The real consequence of these grotesque choices could be what Goodfellow calls "the Cubanization of Latin American policy." In the meantime, Abrams and Reich tell us what we already knew: that the great political imperative in the White House is the stroking of the right wing. Cuban Americans who helped the president in the great fight for Florida are getting what he feels is their due. Bush owes them big time. He can't seem to keep his campaign promises to any of the rest of us, but Florida comes first. |
