WikiLeaks: Bush Admin. Planned Trade War to Promote GM Crops

[RLENT]

"One of the diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks shows George W. Bush’s ambassador to France advised the White House to launch a military-style trade war against any EU nation that opposed the implementation of genetically modified seeds. Despite widespread, credible scientific concern about the possible harm to human health or to the environment or food supply from the use of genetically engineered crops, the Bush administration appears to have used diplomats as sales agents for Monsanto and other major corporations.

According to the Guardian newspaper:

In response to moves by France to ban a Monsanto GM corn variety in late 2007, the ambassador, Craig Stapleton, a friend and business partner of former US president George Bush, asked Washington to penalise the EU and particularly countries which did not support the use of GM crops.

“Country team Paris recommends that we calibrate a target retaliation list that causes some pain across the EU since this is a collective responsibility, but that also focuses in part on the worst culprits.

Stapleton’s suggestion to create what amounts to a hit list for nations not willing to do business with a specific American commercial interest suggests a wholesale degradation of the diplomatic process. While nations often treat foreign diplomats with suspicion, because diplomatic immunity laws have been used in the past to give cover to spies, the American government using diplomats to engage in flagrantly corrupt behavior on the part of for-profit interests is startling.

The content of the cable also suggests that some of the well-known deterioration that occurred in US foreign relations with close allies during the Bush years may be better explained by such coordinated attacks and corrupt activities than by fundamental disagreements over security policy.

In the US, many thoughtful and informed people were shocked to hear some of the bluster about whether France was an ally or a friend to terrorists (after all, Le Monde ran the historic headline “We are all Americans now” on 12 September 2001). The intense frustration of the Bush administration over its dealings with France and other European governments might stem from the misguided and ill-fated refocusing of diplomatic resources to petty commercial manipulation and salesmanship, which now appears to have put the US government in the position of treating allies like enemies over seed contracts.

The depth of diplomatic shortsightedness is stunning, and deeply concerning, and would seem to show the value of a process that makes possible the release of this kind of information. The release of such cables will almost certainly motivate journalists to be far more inquisitive and aggressive about finding out the content of diplomatic communications. But that is not so much the legacy of WikiLeaks as the direct result of incredible abuses carried out for narrow private interests.

The potential danger of such diplomatic abuses is, of course, the long-term degradation of vital economic and security alliances. Democratic societies are organized, in theory, to allow a sovereign people to prevent such abuses by replacing the corrupt officials in question. Secrecy interferes with that basic democratic right, and the service of democratic liberties cannot be used as a justification for unwarranted cover that helps to erode those liberties.

The Guardian report goes on to detail how extensively the US diplomatic corps in Europe was tasked with lobbying for Monsanto’s seed-sale interests:

Cables from the US embassy in the Vatican show that the US believes the pope is broadly supportive of the crops after sustained lobbying of senior Holy See advisers, but regrets that he has not yet stated his support. The US state department special adviser on biotechnology as well as government biotech advisers based in Kenya lobbied Vatican insiders to persuade the pope to declare his backing. “… met with [US monsignor] Fr Michael Osborn of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, offering a chance to push the Vatican on biotech issues, and an opportunity for post to analyse the current state of play on biotech in the Vatican generally,” says one cable in 2008.

“Opportunities exist to press the issue with the Vatican, and in turn to influence a wide segment of the population in Europe and the developing world,” says another.

The use of diplomats to lobby for economic policies beneficial to their nation’s economy may not be new, but the use of diplomats to not only discuss economic policy and trade priorities, but to coordinate attacks against allies who refuse to buy from a specific entity is dangerous and an egregious violation of the public servants’ oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States and to serve and protect the people."

Original Article (containing additional links):

WikiLeaks: Bush Admin. Planned Trade War to Promote GM Crops

 

[Turtle]

In the quoted text it's really hard to see where the Guardian reporting ends and the clearly biased Blogging resumes.

"...the American government using diplomats to engage in flagrantly corrupt behavior on the part of for-profit interests is startling."

What's even more startling is that people think it's flagrantly corrupt behavior and that it's not a normal part of the diplomatic process in every trade war/negotiation.Look at where the apples came from on that bottle of apple juice. You think we use apples from the Argentina, Austria, Chile, China, Germany and Turkey, all in the same bottle, because we don't have apples here?

 

[RLENT]

In the quoted text it's really hard to see where the Guardian reporting ends and the clearly biased Blogging resumes.

Yup - I was lazy about formatting it .... folks can click the included link to view the article as it was formatted in the original (sans any editorial highlighting I might have done )

What's even more startling is that people think it's flagrantly corrupt behavior and that it's not a normal part of the diplomatic process in every trade war/negotiation.

Not at all - some folks actually believe in free markets ..... (something that many in the US and the USG claim to believe in )

It is one thing to want fair and open access to a market for one's product ....

It is another thing altogether for a government to try and compel another government to allow or buy a particular company's product - under the threat of retaliation - when there are very real questions about the products safety ....

Being somewhat familiar with Monsanto and Company's history (can we all say Agent Orange) and what they have been up to around the world, I have little doubt that their behavior is flagrantly corrupt ..... that might be why at least 7 States Attorneys General, and the US Justice Department are, or were, investigating them.

The (corrupt) political manipulation that Monsanto has attempted (and, in some instances, been able) to accomplish with regards to their rBGH product Posilac (recombinant bovine growth hormone, used to increase milk production) is but one example ... another would be GMO canola .....

Try Googling "Monsanto corrupt" ...

Look at where the apples came from on that bottle of apple juice. You think we use apples from the Argentina, Austria, Chile, China, Germany and Turkey, all in the same bottle, because we don't have apples here?

Do you think that is because any of those nations are able to exert sufficient political pressure to force the US to accept their imports ? (Argentina? ..... Chile ? ... Austria ? .... )

Or is it simply because US corporations see it as more profitable to do so ?

 

[Turtle]

Not at all - some folks actually believe in free markets ..... (something that many in the US and the USG claim to believe in )

And some people believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy, but that doesn't mean they exist.

It is one thing to want fair and open access to a market for one's product ....

It is another thing altogether for a government to try and compel another government to allow or buy a particular company's product - under the threat of retaliation - when there are very real questions about the products safety ....

Very true, and it happens all the time, and not just by the US.

Being somewhat familiar with Monsanto and Company's history (can we all say Agent Orange) and what they have been up to around the world, I have little doubt that their behavior is flagrantly corrupt ..... that might be why at least 7 States Attorneys General, and the US Justice Department are, or were, investigating them.

You'll get no argument from me that Monsanto has done some bad things, and will likely do more. But for what, specifically, are or were those 7 States Attorneys General and the US Justice Department investigating them? Was or is it regarding the above article? Monsanto is into so many things and are in trouble most of the time.

The (corrupt) political manipulation that Monsanto has attempted (and, in some instances, been able) to accomplish with regards to their rBGH product Posilac (recombinant bovine growth hormone, used to increase milk production) is but one example ... another would be GMO canola .....

Don't forget, tho, that canola itself is an invented GM product, invented in Canada by Canadians by cross-breeding and genetic engineering. Monsanto merely took the hand-off and ran with it.

Try Googling "Monsanto corrupt" ...

Aside from the fact that you can Google pretty much any business, or noun for that matter, followed by corrupt, and you'll get hits from any number of wacko sits, I'll concede that Monsanto=Evil.

Do you think that is because any of those nations are able to exert sufficient political pressure to force the US to accept their imports ? (Argentina? ..... Chile ? ... Austria ? .... )

Or is it simply because US corporations see it as more profitable to do so ?

It's the former, as part of their response from being pressured by us to them to buy something else entirely. We pressure Austria to buy Arkansas rice and Montana beef and they say,

"Nope, not unless you buy just a snotload of apples."

And we say, "We've got plenty of apples, thank you very much."

And they say, "That's the deal, take it leave it."

And we say, "We've really and truly got more apples than we need."

And they say, "Do you want to sell beef and rice, or not?"

And we say, "OK, but you gotta buy Gerber Baby Picante Sauce that's made with the chilis that that dаmned Argentina made us buy."