White House: 72 Hours “Before Actions Kick In” on Honduras Coup

By Al Giordano

This is verbatim from today’s press briefing by White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs:

Q    What's the White House's sense of the situation in Honduras at this point?  Are we on the cusp of a true meltdown?  It seems to be spiraling.

MR. GIBBS:  Well, I think it's best for me to characterize what actions have happened here.  Assistant Secretary Tom Shannon, who deals with the Western Hemisphere at the Department of State, and Dan Restrepo from the National Security Council, met yesterday at the OAS with President Zelaya.  I think you've seen the OAS take some actions and set some deadlines for the restoration of President Zelaya before actions kick in, and I think that's where we are.

Q But with the Pentagon suspending joint military operations, how far-reaching is that and are there next steps that are under consideration as well?

MR. GIBBS:  Well, we continue to monitor the situation and will respond accordingly as events transpire.  But, again, as I said, we're watching closely what's going on.

(Bold type added for emphasis.)

And also:

Q    On Honduras?  Just to clarify, Micheletti, the (inaudible) President has said that he's planning to send some representatives to Washington to talk with the U.S. government.  Is the White House or the State Department planning to talk with them?

MR. GIBBS:  Not that I'm aware of, no.

Q    Micheletti has also said that if Zelaya returns to Honduras, he's going to be put in jail.  Do you have any comments to that?

MR. GIBBS:  No, except I think, again, I would simply reiterate that I think the OAS has laid down some fairly strong conditions and a timeline that we're supportive of and think that should be met in order to restore the democratic rule of law.

The Organization of American States (OAS), which has unanimously demanded the reinstatement of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya within 72 hours or it will expel Honduras from the organization, is attempting various diplomatic overtures to convince the coup plotters that it will not be in their best interests to continue holding Honduras' democracy hostage.

The US has been part of the formulation of that position (along with Venezuela, Brazil, the Central American nations and other leading players) and its clear that Washington is following the lead of the collective will of the hemisphere.

Those that complain that Washington isn't acting fast enough or forceful enough are really just asking that the US go back to disregarding the will of the rest of the hemisphere and taking a "cowboy" approach all its own. Clearly, the US is the biggest gun in all of this, measured by military and economic might. One would think that everybody that has worked for years to see that power reined in and become more respectful of the rest of the hemisphere would be cheering this development. Well, the serious ones are.

Meanwhile, US Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, today told MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell:

"This administration has been very clear that a coup is a coup. And there are no good coups and bad coups."

If you want to argue about whether the US administration is moving fast enough or forcefully enough, talk to me after this weekend, when the 72 hour deadline "kicks in." Debating it before then is an utter waste of everybody's time, because the OAS has already dictated the timeline. If you don't agree, I'll be happy to discuss it after the deadline expires. Or take it up with the OAS, if you can get it to give you the time of day while it's so busy with this crisis. Otherwise, you can always go start a fight with yourself in an empty room. I know that some folks would rather do that than, say, join in the heavy lifting of breaking the coup's information blockade.

Meanwhile there are more updates and links from the front page of Narco News - Laura Carlsen's interview with Honduran social leader Rafael Alegria, the news from the Pentagon about shutting down all joint exercises with the Honduran military, translated texts of recent resolutions by the United Nations and Honduran social movements, and a link to a must-read legal analysis that explains why the coup-defenders' claims that President Zelaya violated the law are false - and we continue to report 'round the clock on new developments.