"Only a generation ago, this was a continent plagued by military dictatorship and civil war," Bush intoned in Brazil on Sunday. "Yet the people of this continent defied the dictators, and they claimed their liberty... Freedom is the gift of the Almighty to every man and woman in this world - and today this vision is the free consensus of a free Americas."
Right, and where was Washington? Many of the same leaders with whom Bush met at the summit were in prison, or buried their friends and colleagues murdered for their activism, and faced the constant threat of murder and torture for standing up to dictatorship. And in most instances, they were fighting dictators backed by the United States.
Chile's President Ricardo Lagos is a case in point: He was imprisoned by Washington's man, Pinochet. Yes, he wants a trade deal with the U.S. But you can hold the democracy lecture, thank you.
If ignorance is bliss, Dubya's a happy man.
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