Sen. Jim DeMint, who has been leading the charge against the administration’s ill-fated attempt to bully Honduras into taking back Manuel Zelaya, declares victory. In a statement he explains:

“I am happy to report the Obama Administration has finally reversed its misguided Honduran policy and will fully recognize the November 29th elections,” said Senator DeMint. “Secretary Clinton and Assistant Secretary Shannon have assured me that the U.S. will recognize the outcome of the Honduran elections regardless of whether Manuel Zelaya is reinstated. I take our administration at their word that they will now side with the Honduran people and end their focus on the disgraced Zelaya.”

This seems to make clear that Zelaya has indeed been thrown under the bus, left to wait for a vote in the Honduran Congress that may never come. We’ll see if Hillary Clinton, as she has been wont to do in the Middle East, rushes forth to declare that this is not our intent at all. But one senses that the jig is up, everyone is moving on, and the Obami would really rather not have DeMint and others reminding everyone how badly they misread the situation and what grief they caused the Honduran people (cutting off aid, revoking visas).

In any other administration, this episode would win the prize for the most feckless and embarrassing initiative. Here, the Honduran policy becomes just one of many debacles (the settlement freeze, the withdrawal of missile-defense sites, Iranian engagement) in the young administration. One wonders whether any resignations or shake-ups are in store, or do the Obami foreign-policy gurus not notice they have become a laughingstock?

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This entry was posted on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 7:59 AM and is filed under Contentions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.