How To Lose An Ally

by Robert Novak - May 10th, 2007 - Real Clear Politics

Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe returned to Bogota this week in a state of shock. His three-day visit to Capitol Hill in Washington to win over Democrats in Congress was described by one American supporter as "catastrophic." Colombian sources said Uribe was stunned by the ferocity of his Democratic opponents, and Vice President Francisco Santos publicly talked about cutting U.S.-Colombian ties.

Uribe got nothing from his meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic leaders. Military aid remains stalled, overall assistance is reduced, and the vital U.S.-Colombian trade bill looks dead. The first Colombian president to crack down on his country's corrupt army officer hierarchy, and to assault both right-wing paramilitaries and left-wing guerrillas, last week confronted Democrats wedded to out-of-date claims of civil rights abuses and to rigidly protectionist dogma.

One of the key components of the democrat party are labor unions. Labor unions are controlled by their leaders, not their members, and they are militantly socialist. America's number one enemy in the region is socialist Hugo Chavez. Though he hates America, he is popular with democrat party leadership because he is socialist. Uribe is not a socialist, and has proved a moderate opposing the right wing militias in his country. However he comes to the United States at a time of idealogical extremism in the democrat party, and his friendship with America means nothing in the face of his failure to support socialism.

This looks like one more Nancy Pelosi "foriegn affairs" disaster in the making.