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U.S. foreign relations: Does this sound familiar?
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| Tunnel Rat |
Looks like the Yanks have a problem with their neighbors to the south too.
I was very happy that Martin had the balls to put his foot down on the missle defence plan that the U.S./Bush were proposing. Seems president Fox is doing the same as it relates to Mexico.
Will a firm stance by foreign gov'ts change the the U.S.'s meddling in foreign gov'ts policies? I doubt it. But at least non-"superpowers" like ourselves and - to a greater extent - Mexico, seem more willing to take a stance against the scare tactics (ex. excessive trade sanctions) that the U.S so heavy-handedly dishes out way too often.
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By LISA J. ADAMS, Associated Press Writer
MEXICO CITY - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's first official visit south of the border — during which she's expected to reiterate President Bush's commitment to migration reform — comes as Mexican politicians are increasingly accusing the United States of meddling in Mexico's internal affairs.
Mexican congressmen and Cabinet members have denounced recent U.S. warnings about violence on the border, human rights abuses, continuing drug trafficking problems and possible election-related instability.
U.S. ambassador to Mexico Tony Garza added fuel to the nationalistic fires last week when, during a speech to the American Chamber of Commerce in Mexico City, he spoke about corruption and crime, Mexico's dependence on remittances from the United States and the country's failure to adapt "to the new rules of the globalization game."
Garza earlier irritated many in January with a letter saying that "the inability of local law enforcement to come to grips with rising drug warfare, kidnappings and random street violence will have a chilling effect on the cross-border exchange, tourism and commerce."
The letter accompanied a State Department travel advisory about rising violence on Mexico's northern border.
A passing CIA reference last month to Mexico as a potential "flashpoint" for electoral instability and a State Department report alleging some human rights abuses in Mexico also brought indignant responses.
"What we want is a good neighbor ... not someone who judges us," said Interior Secretary Santiago Creel. In a separate appearance, he denounced U.S. "interference."
Creel is considered a leading contender for the 2006 presidential election, and few Mexican politicians have ever suffered from using anti-Yankee rhetoric. Creel's critics often have accused him of bowing too easily to U.S. interests.
President Vicente Fox himself said the travel advisory and Garza's statements were "excessive and sensationalist" and he said they qualified as "meddling" in Mexican affairs.
Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez, who may need U.S. support in his bid to lead the Organization of American States, has been restrained.
He initially called Garza's letter "exaggerated and outside the scope of reality," but later met with the ambassador, after which the two issued a conciliatory statement.
"I think there is meddling, not only in themes of common interest such as the border, trade and migration, but now they're also judging us on corruption and low economic growth," said Rep. Roberto Pedraza of the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party.
Rice's one-day visit, the first to Latin America since her appointment in January, comes in advance of a March 23 meeting President Bush is hosting in Texas with the leaders of Mexico and Canada.
The secretary of state, who will meet Derbez and Fox during Thursday's visit, is expected to focus in part on Bush's proposal to permit legal, temporary jobs for Mexicans who eventually would return home without receiving U.S. citizenship.
Fox started his term in 2000 promising to fight for a comprehensive immigration reform that would legalize the status of millions of Mexican migrants. Even Bush proposed a plan to let undocumented aliens already in the United States achieve legal status if they could prove they had a job.
But the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks turned the U.S. focus to enhanced border security, not immigration reform.
Even Bush's watered-down temporary worker plan has met opposition among congressmen trying to limit, not loosen, migrant rights. Vigilante groups are recruiting volunteers to patrol the southeast Arizona border for undocumented Mexican crossers.
Garza, who like Rice enjoys a close relationship with Bush, made Washington's position clear in his speech to the American Chamber.
"There should be no doubt ... that immigration reform will become far more likely when the U.S. public and its leaders feel confident that the border is secure and Mexico is doing everything it can to create economic opportunities here at home," he said.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm.../ap/mexico_rice |
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| VERTiG0 |
Is it necessary to busy ourselves worrying about US/Mexican relations? Although the police corruption down there is just absolutely ridiculous...
Here's my plan to prevent illegal immigration. 30m high solid steel walls across the US/Mexico border, with huge pits of fire in front of them like a moat, and every 200m there is a tower in the wall where there is a sniper waiting to pick off anyone who successfully crosses the real moat filled with alligators, lions, sharks, and giant squid, which is in front of the fire moat. Oh also the guy would have to hop over razor wire too. Then the snipers could shoot fun darts at them that say funny things, like "AYE CARUMBA! GO HOME! LOL!" and . |
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| Tunnel Rat |
| quote: | Originally posted by VERTiG0
Is it necessary to busy ourselves worrying about US/Mexican relations? Although the police corruption down there is just absolutely ridiculous...
Here's my plan to prevent illegal immigration. 30m high solid steel walls across the US/Mexico border, with huge pits of fire in front of them like a moat, and every 200m there is a tower in the wall where there is a sniper waiting to pick off anyone who successfully crosses the real moat filled with alligators, lions, sharks, and giant squid, which is in front of the fire moat. Oh also the guy would have to hop over razor wire too. Then the snipers could shoot fun darts at them that say funny things, like "AYE CARUMBA! GO HOME! LOL!" and . |
I'm not worrying. I just find it amusing the the U.S. will openly blaim other countries for problems basically brought on by themselves (exs. perceived threats of a missle attack brought on by a self-serving presence in the middle east {assuming that is where they believe the missles will come from, cause the threat certainly isn't coming from North Korea!}, or a problem with illegal immigration when U.S. companies are themselves shipping Mexican's in by the truckload to work on California wine farms for dirt-cheap wages (if any at all)). |
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| rabbitjoker |
That is crazy! |
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| starsearcher |
| lol who cares, all mexicans are running illegaly to the states anyway they might as well be one big country :stongue: |
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