The Wrong Lesson

One of the myths deposed by the Wikileaks US State Department embassy cable cache is the notion of diplomacy as a benign exercise above the fray of dirty dealing that takes place at the National Security Agency or Central Intelligence Agency. With the revelation of spying on UN officials, authorized by Secretary of State Clinton, we note the continuity of malpractice notoriously conducted under the previous White House by Secretary Powell, with help from his long time associate from the Department of Defense, Richard Armitage. As Deputy Secretary of State, Armitage was responsible for outing undercover CIA officer Valerie Plame in retaliation for her husband Ambassador Wilson’s refusal to go along with the fraudulent Iraq WMD campaign promoted at the UN by Secretary Powell. Apparently, Clinton learned something useful from that sordid betrayal; unfortunately, it was the wrong lesson.

In May 2008, State Department envoys to the newly democratized state of Bolivia — presided over by the first indigenous head of state, Evo Morales — were busy arranging a coup. As reported by The Real News Network, Bolivia deported the US ambassador for funding ruling class rebels trying to overthrow Morales by violence and murder of his indigenous supporters. At the Organization of American States summit a year later, Latin American leaders made it clear to the new US president that they were not going to tolerate further US interference in their countries.

As President Obama and Secretary Clinton continue to block progress on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, we must expect they will also continue running covert operations against leaders and organizers of the World Indigenous Peoples’ Movement. With the recommendation two days ago by the European Union Parliament that the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change be given a seat at the table in UN climate change talks, those operations are likely already underway.