Please call your
Senators before the vote this Thursday, April 29, and demand that they
vote no to career diplomat John Negroponte’s nomination by
President Bush to be U.S. Ambassador to Iraq.
Negroponte’s lack of democratic
credentials and his record of support for gross human rights violations previously held up his
nomination for UN ambassador. The Senate
Foreign Relations Committee held a quick approval vote Sept. 12, 2001, rushing him through during the chaos
following the tragedy of the day before.
We must not allow the Senate to sweep his horrible record
under the rug a second time.
2004.04.28
Please call your
Senators before the vote this Thursday, April 29, and demand that they
vote no to career diplomat John Negroponte’s nomination by
President Bush to be U.S. Ambassador to Iraq.
He would
head the largest U.S. embassy after what is now admitted
to be “limited sovereignty” is turned over to Iraq on June
30. Negroponte’s record makes him uniquely unqualified for
this important posting.
• Negroponte was political officer at the U.S. Embassy in
Vietnam from 1964-1968, the height of the war, and during
a period of extrajudicial executions and gross human
rights abuses, including massacres by the infamous “Tiger
Force” of the Army’s 101st Airborne Division.
• Negroponte was ambassador to Honduras from 1981-1985
during which he oversaw a ten-fold increase in staff and
an embassy that housed one of the largest CIA deployments
in all of Latin America. He lied to Congress about his
knowledge of the infamous Battalion 316 death squad, and
managed illegal aid to the Contras fighting the Nicaraguan
government in direct contravention of Congress’ ban.
• Negroponte was ambassador to Mexico 1989-1993 where he
shepherded the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
to its conclusion. NAFTA has caused one million Mexican
farmers to lose their land and livelihoods and undermined
labor and environmental protections in Mexico, the U.S.,
and Canada.
• Negroponte has served as U.S. ambassador to the United
Nations since September 2001 during the run-up to the U.S.
invasion of Iraq. He is guilty of lying to the UN about
justifications for the war and successfully pressured
Mexico and Chile to fire their UN ambassadors after they
clashed with him over the war.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee scheduled a rushed
hearing on the nomination on Tuesday, April 27, 2004 and
the Senate leadership has scheduled a full Senate vote for
Thursday, April 29.
Negroponte’s lack of democratic
credentials and his record of support for, or turning a
blind eye to, gross human rights violations, held up his
nomination for UN ambassador in 2001. But, the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee held a quick approval vote on
Sept. 12, 2001, rushing him through during the chaos
following the tragedy of the day before.
We must not allow the Senate to sweep his horrible record
under the rug a second time.
Call the Capitol Switchboard
at 202-224-3121, ask for your Senator’s office, and demand
that your Senator vote no on the Negroponte confirmation.
For a good background piece just released by the Council
on Hemispheric Affairs, visit:
http://www.coha.org/NEW_PRESS_RELEASES/New_Press_Releases_2004/04.20_Negroponte.htm
Author: Nicaragua Network
News Service: theExperiment
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