Obama Criticizes Coverage of Summit of the Americas

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Bloomberg News

Obama Criticizes Coverage of Summit of the Americas
By Kate Andersen Brower and Roger Runningen on April 15, 2012

President Barack Obama said the media often ignores progress made at international summits in favor of more “flashy” news, as the Summit of the Americas was overshadowed by allegations of misconduct by his Secret Service agents.

“Oftentimes in the press the attention for summits like this ends up focusing on, where are the controversies?” the president said during a meeting with executives of U.S. and South American companies on the sidelines of the summit in Cartagena, Colombia. “Sometimes those controversies date back to before I was born.”

The president didn’t mention the Secret Service agents who were sent home from Cartagena after allegations of behavior that the Associated Press reported included drinking and prostitutes. Instead he referred to disputes dating back to the Cold War.

While the summit’s official focus is on trade and improving infrastructure in South America, discussions were also expected to include the debate in South America over the legalization of drugs and increasing communist Cuba’s participation in regional affairs.


Read more: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-04-15/obama-criticizes-coverage-of-summit-of-the-americas

[msongs]

1. we let "communist" china and Russia participate in affairs with us & they can nuke us off the globe

[Proletariatprincess]

2. This is just horse puckys, Mr. President.

It isn't the media's fault that the USA and it's right wing allies in Canada, have undermined any progress the summit hoped to achieve....and it isn't the first time. In this case it was about Cuba and the Drug War and the Falkland Islands.
The USA doesn't do summits well unless it has it's way all the time. There is no negotiating or good faith bargaining on issues of importance to the rest of the world. It is OUR way or the highway. The rest of the world has noticed and many now believe that it would be better off without the USA involvement. The USA is loosing it's influence and respect around the world and will be less and less relevant as time goes by.
Obama's complaint about the media is just a distraction for the real scandal here. This summit, like others, was ineffectual and useless thanks to the USA....not because of the media or the Secret service scandal. In fact, the scandal itself may have been a planned/arranged distraction from the real failures here.
I am so ashamed of my country's role on the world stage now and I wonder if the German people and the Russian people felt the same way in the darkest days of their history of the last century.

[EFerrari]

3. You reminded me of Noam Chomsky's observation

that the "international community" is whoever happens to agree with us at the moment.

lol

[harun]

4. +1

[limpyhobbler]

5. "may have been a planned/arranged distraction"

I think this is very possible.

Stories from the Summit include: Secret Service parties with hookers, agents sent home; Hillary Clinton goes out dancing, drinks beers out of bottle, no glass, complete with full photo spread; President Obama meets Shakira. I think they are trying to drown out news coverage of the Summit with these sexier stories because US Latin American policies are so unpopular.

[Bacchus4.0]

7. the Falklands?? the US should support the islanders self determination.

with Cuba and the drug war, there is ample room for progress with the other nations of the region.

[Adventurediscovery]

6. Spam deleted by greyl (MIR Team)