Petty, Shallow, Short Sighted

It appears that the Democrats have done their best to offend one of the United States only remaining allys in South America. This bit by Robert Novak on Real Clear Politics hurts to read. Al-Pelosi, freedom's worst enemy. Man. Somebody help us. Fred? You there?

Uribe got nothing from his meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic leaders. Military aid remains stalled, overall assistance is reduced, and the vital U.S.-Colombian trade bill looks dead. The first Colombian president to crack down on his country's corrupt army officer hierarchy, and to assault both right-wing paramilitaries and left-wing guerrillas, last week confronted Democrats wedded to out-of-date claims of civil rights abuses and to rigidly protectionist dogma.
This is remarkable U.S. treatment for a rare friend on the South American continent, where Venezuela's leftist dictator Hugo Chavez can only exult in Uribe's embarrassment as he builds an anti-American bloc of nations. A former congressional staffer, who in 1999 helped author Plan Colombia against narco-guerrillas, told me: "President Uribe may be the odd man out, and that's no way to treat our best ally in South America."

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/05/how_to_lose_an_ally.html