BernieHund: The Political Watchdog

One day after Mark Penn steps from the spotlight of the Hillary Clinton campaign and into the shadows for his meeting with Colombian officials over a trade deal, President Bush prepares to send the proposed agreement to Congress.  Over all Democrats have opposed the free trade agreement with Colombia saying the country needs to halt violence and and protect labor activists.

President Bush said

“If Congress fails to approve this agreement, it would not only abandon a brave ally, it would send a signal throughout the region that America cannot be counted on to support its friends.”

The Colombian agreement isn’t the only one Bush wants pushed through the Congress.  Apparently, he is depending on these few free trade agreements as a part of his legacy. 

Bush, who has staked out free trade as one of his top legacies, is also hoping to win congressional approval before he leaves office on pending free trade agreements with Panama and South Korea.

Recently, trade agreements have become hot topics along the campaign trail, most recently forcing Clinton’s top campaign strategist to step down after his meeting with the Colombians over the very agreement that will formally be presented in Congress tomorrow.  The agreement has been put on the fast track by the president, meaning that Congress will have only 90 days to act on it. 

Bush said the deal with Colombia, a strong U.S. ally in the Western Hemisphere, is important for national security reasons. He praised President Alvaro Uribe is committed to democratic values and that since 2002, Colombia has reported declines in kidnappings, terrorist attacks, murders and violence against union members.

“Despite this progress, Colombia remains under intense pressure in the region,” Bush said. “It faces a continuing assault from the terrorist network known as FARC, which has seized hostages and murdered innocent folks, including Americans, in an attempt to overthrew Colombia’s democracy.”

He said Colombia also faces a hostile, anti-American regime in Venezuela, which has met with FARC terrorist leaders and deployed troops to the Colombian border as a means of intimidating the Colombian government and its people.

“The need for this agreement is too urgent, the stakes for our national security are too high to allow this year to end without a vote,” Bush said.

The FARC faction is the group who kidnapped Ingrid Betancourt several years ago as she ran for president of Colombia.  Until recently, Mrs. Betancourt has not been seen and her whereabouts have been unknown.  Several months ago a picture of Betancourt surfaced along with video showing her in the jungle, a captive of the FARC extremists.  Her health is failing rapidly and her ex-husband and son have called for her release as has the French government.