By Rafael Lorente. Washington Bureau. June 1, 2001.
Chicago Tribune
WASHINGTON -- With Republicans retaining control of the U.S. House, the
impending power shift in the Senate could create a stalemate on Cuba policy,
thwarting anti-Castro initiatives and a key State Department nomination while
leaving the embargo and other policies intact.
Next week's Democratic takeover of the Senate may jeopardize the nomination
of Otto Reich, a favorite of the Miami Cuban-American community, as the State
Department's top Latin America diplomat. It also could mean trouble for recently
introduced legislation to provide millions in aid for dissidents in President
Fidel Castro's Cuba.
But the Democratic takeover does not mean any changes are likely in the
four-decade embargo of the island or in the travel ban that makes it difficult
for Americans to visit Cuba. While farm-state legislators from both parties and
others want to make such changes, they would face resistance from the Republican
leadership in the House and from President Bush, who at least in part owes his
election victory in Florida to Cuban-American voters.
The switch of Sen. James Jeffords of Vermont from Republican to Independent
last week will give Democrats control of Senate committees, including the
crucial Foreign Relations Committee, where Reich goes for confirmation. Under
Republican leadership, Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina, a staunch supporter
of Miami's anti-Castro community, would have led the charge for Reich.
Nomination in jeopardy
But Democratic Sens. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut and John Kerry of
Massachusetts have been critical of Bush's nomination of the Cuban-born Reich as
assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs. They say Reich's
role as a Reagan administration official during the Iran-contra affair and
controversial lobbying activities make him unfit. Bush has not formally sent
Reich's name to Congress but has announced he plans to do so.
How aggressively Dodd and others will fight against Reich remains to be
seen. Marvin Fast, a spokesman for Dodd, said Wednesday that his boss feels the
leading Latin America diplomat needs to be someone who can "build
bipartisan coalitions," something detractors say the ultraconservative
Reich cannot do. But Fast would not say whether Dodd would try to kill the Reich
nomination.
Fast also denied a statement made in an e-mail by one of Helms' top aides
recently that said Dodd has promised not to squelch the Reich nomination.
The e-mail, sent by Helms aide Roger Noriega to people on Capitol Hill, said
Dodd had promised Secretary of State Colin Powell "that he was not going to
kill Otto." The e-mail also said Republicans, with support from the White
House, would fight hard for Reich, and win.
"Sen. Dodd made no such commitment and in fact he continues to have
serious concerns and doesn't think he's the right person for the job at this
moment," Fast said. Noriega said Wednesday that he could not contradict
Dodd's staff but cited a source he would not identify but considers reliable.
Reich's supporters say they always expected the nomination would be a tough
one, but they say the votes are still there in the Senate to get it through.
They point to Democratic support from Florida's Bob Graham and Bill Nelson, as
well as Robert Torricelli of New Jersey. Nelson and Torricelli are on the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, where the crucial fight will take place.
Backers of Reich point to his time as ambassador to Venezuela as proof that
he is a capable diplomat. They say the allegations against him are baseless and
that he was never charged with any wrongdoing.
Opposition to Reich centers on his 1980s stint as head of the State
Department's Office of Public Diplomacy. Declassified documents available from
the National Security Archive show that the office covertly, and some say
illegally, generated propaganda to influence Congress and the U.S. public in
support of Reagan administration policies in Central America.
According to a 1988 congressional Iran-contra report, Reich's office
operated under the direction of the National Security Council with close ties to
Oliver North and the Central Intelligence Agency.
A 1987 report by the comptroller general of the United States said Reich's
office "engaged in prohibited, covert propaganda activities designed to
influence the media and the public to support the Administration's Latin
American policies."
Critics: Too focused on Cuba
Critics also say Reich is too focused on Cuba to be the lead diplomat for
all of Latin America.
"His whole career stacks up to a litany of, if not illegalities, then
improprieties that make him unqualified for the post," said Martha Honey, a
fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington. "Reich is a
payback to the Cuban-American community that in a sense handed Bush victory."
Honey was especially critical of Reich's lobbying work for businesses such
as Bacardi-Martini and Lockheed Martin, which wants to sell F-16 fighter planes
to Chile.
"Is he going to be able to separate this kind of lobbying work that
he's done from his job as the lead diplomat toward Latin America?" Honey
asked.
The dissident aid bill also could run into opposition from Dodd, who likely
will head a subcommittee responsible for the legislation. Dodd said last week
the bill would not see the light of day.
The fate of the Reich nomination and the dissident aid bill may rest with
the White House and how much of an effort it wants to put into them.
Already, speculation in Washington has been that the White House might give
up on Reich getting such a high-profile post and instead give him a job that
does not require Senate confirmation. Even some Bush supporters have privately
expressed anger that he announced his intention to nominate Reich in March but
has yet to send his name to Capitol Hill.
"We think the administration is rethinking its position," Fast
said.
But a spokeswoman for Bush said Reich's nomination was still on track. "As
far as I know we're still in the process of getting him to the Hill,"
Jeanie Mamo said. A House aide said Reich received a call last week from U.S.
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, promising the administration would
support him. |