Bush-Lula summit: A chance to solve hemispheric security concerns

The US-Brazil summit last week was an important opportunity for Washington to strengthen ties with its giant southern neighbor – but it looked like the administration went out of its way not to hold Brazilian President Inacio ‘Lula’ da Silva accountable for his sponsorship of political extremism in the hemisphere.

Bush and Da Silva issued a joint declaration that included the following language: ‘We will cooperate on issues of mutual interest that contribute to the defense and security of the hemisphere, bolstering joint efforts to counter terrorism, narcotics trafficking and consumption, trafficking in persons, and other transnational criminal challenges to regional peace.’

That’s an important commitment, especially in light of Da Silva’s sponsorship of the ‘Foro de Sao Paulo’ movement. Founded more than a decade ago under Da Silva’s Marxist Workers’ Party, the Foro de Sao Paulo is a collection of Latin American extremist political groups, including old Marxist-Leninist guerrilla and terrorist movements.

At its December, 2002 conference, the movement took predictably strident anti-US positions on world issues, and urged that no military action be taken to remove the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. Official delegates from Cuba and North Korea, which the Bush Administration lists as state-sponsors of terrorism, were invited guests.

During his presidential campaign last year, Da Silva alarmed foreign observers by indicating that he would revitalize Brazil’s mothballed and illegal nuclear weapons program, and would spur economic recovery by manufacturing and proliferating high-tech weapons.

The Bush Administration has virtually neglected Latin America, and appears unwilling to confront alarming anti-US trends in the hemisphere, pushing a ‘free-trade-uber-alles’ policy instead of playing hardball on terrorism. It’s time to reverse that neglect and to help Brazil’s economic recovery, which the US should link to the Brazilian president and his terrorism support network.