Things are not always as they seem

When I first heard of the Honduran military's disposition of Honduras' President Manuel Zelaya, I assumed it was a typical, Third World-style coup d'etat and that the reaction of President Obama and the OAS calling for immediate reinstatement of President Zelaya was the right and proper response. However, after having researched the chain of events behind the removal of Zelaya, it is obvious that the Honduran governmental institutions and civil society were actually defending the Honduran constitution from the hatchet-work of Zelaya.

Many Americans do not realize that in Latin American countries, the military is the national police force. U.S. law does not allow the military to enforce laws. This is why we have civilian organizations like the Coast Guard and the FBI. Whereas the FBI in the U.S. would arrest officials accused of a crime, the military performs those actions in South America. If it was the military acting under its own initiative in disposing the President, then that is obviously unconstitutional. But the Supreme Court of Honduras and the Congress both approved this action and followed Honduran constitutional procedures in appointing a presidential successor.

The Obama Administration needs to wake up and begin to defend principled positions on the world stage. Dialogue with tin-pot dictators is fine, but actively supporting their positions only serves to degrade our own moral authority. As we have said on this blog in the past in the context of the excesses of the Bush Administration, constitutional fidelity is more than just blindly following your leaders, even if those leaders were duly elected. Extra-constitutional maneuvering can never be allowed to stand, especially on the part of a President, who is charged to faithfully execute the duly-enacted laws.

UPDATE 10/12/2009: Negotiations on Honduras Continue