USA Today - U.S. seeks better ties by aiding militaries

USA Today

U.S. seeks better ties by aiding militaries

Updated 11/10/2006 8:09 AM ET



By Barbara Slavin, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Concern about leftist victories in Latin America has prompted
President Bush to quietly grant a waiver that allows the United States to resume
training militaries from 11 Latin American and Caribbean countries.

The administration hopes the training will forge links with countries in the
region and blunt a leftward trend. Daniel Ortega, a nemesis of the United States
in the region during the 1980s, was elected president in Nicaragua this week.
Bolivians chose another leftist, Evo Morales, last year.

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ON DEADLINE: Will the move help U.S. influence or cause more trouble?

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A military training ban was originally designed to pressure countries into
exempting U.S. soldiers from war crimes trials.

The 2002 U.S. law bars countries from receiving military aid and training if
they refuse to promise immunity from prosecution to U.S. servicemembers who
might get hauled before the International Criminal Court. The law allows
presidential waivers.

The White House lifted the ban on 21 countries, about half in Latin America or
the Caribbean, through a presidential memorandum Oct. 2 to Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice. The training is conducted in the USA.
A ban on giving countries weapons remains. Commercial arms sales are not
affected, said Jose Ruiz, a U.S. Southern Command spokesman.

The training ban had resulted in a loss of U.S. influence in the region. The
issue gained urgency after a string of leftist candidates came to power in Latin
America. Rice said this year on a trip to the region that the impact of the ban
had been "the same as shooting ourselves in the foot."

China stepped into the gap. Ruiz said China "has approached every country in our
area of responsibility" and has exchanged senior military officials with
Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile and Cuba and provided military aid and training to
Jamaica and Venezuela.

The ban remains in effect for some countries. Venezuela, whose fiery President
Hugo Chávez is a critic of the Bush administration, remains ineligible because
it is on a State Department list of countries alleged to have permitted the
trafficking of women and children for sexual exploitation and forced labor.

Chávez is up for re-election in December and leads in the polls. Cuba is also
off-limits because of a long-standing U.S. embargo against Fidel Castro's
regime.

Ruiz said efforts are being made to transfer money this year to begin training
foreign officers from eligible countries.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-11-09-waiver_x.htm