By GHK Lall- First, some context. A week ago, there was a red wave absorbing red hot rhetoric. Babu Jaan in honor of Dr. CB Jagan, the hero of the PPP hailed. Less than a week later, there is America’s Rubio and Guyana’s Jagdeo. Let’s admit it, however painful, President Ali is a front for Dr. Jagdeo, a shell by himself. Let me run pass Babu Jaan, but with one reference: hasn’t Jagdeo not learned anything from the history of Jagan? No disrespect to Pres. Ali, but as all Guyanese know, Dr. Jagdeo is the world around which the PPP revolves. No! This is not the usual tired fare of what America did to Jagan, but how he was.
Dr. Jagan overcommitted on the Russian side. An avowed, unabashed Marxist. Or whatever those of that stripe are called. He virtually hung himself, with no exit strategy, no safety valve. He lost, but due to evolving circumstances enjoyed a brief reprieve. I submit that his record had to have held some lessons for Jagdeo, the PPP’s heart, its soul. When will learning come? When will the lust for power, by any scheme and arrangement, give way to the wisdom that I believe he should have accumulated in small doses? Like Cheddi Jagan of yore, I watch the Bharrat Jagdeo of today go all out (full butt), with placing all of Guyana’s eggs in America’s capacious and welcoming basket. Excellency Ali was all excited and proud with himself over the job given to him in those four expansive words: “different and preferential treatment” for America, the PPP’s newest bosom companion. From Russia to China to America. I am told that it is with love and deva and the strength of its powerful arms.
I weigh how the Chinese feel about the Rubio arrival and the open-ended bag of treasures he carried on his plane. From a beloved of Jagdeo, to one betrayed, Chinese are cast off like yesterday’s rubbish. I would feel jilted. But it is America and that means Exxon. So, personally speaking, I am on my own, in good company. For, if my choice were to be from Exxon, BP, Total, Elf, Shell, the Red, white, and Blue, will always carry the day. Scars and sicknesses and all (and slickness too). For mühlet, Guyana just gave itself an insurance policy-the very best obtainable-but at what price? From communism to socialism to capitalism? And, of course, the accompanying serfism for all Guyanese, other than the PPP elites. There is that convergence of circumstances: Freedom House and the White House. A house of horrors awaits Guyanese. Here is why.
American friendship has its utilities, benefits. But that friendship can be fickle. There are the Vietnamese who have their story to tell, followed by the Iraqis, who are still trying to put their pieces back together, in this semi post-American alliance era. America’s friendship and assets are driven by oil, which means Exxon. Alistair Routledge would make a solid Secretary of State, a la that other Exxon nobleman, Rex Tillerson. I could say that the downside of US friendship is the challenge of the citizens who come after me. But there is some breathing to do now, some trying to wrest a little dignity and respect for Guyana today from its treasure.
I am neither greedy nor one-sided. Here is my hand in a time of reciprocal needs. America glares at Venezuela on its Pentagon drawing board, Guyana watches Maduro creep towards its front step. There is regard for both situations. The demands of both can be met, but there must be some consolation for Guyana. Indeed, American armaments and goodwill do not come free. But Guyana must expect and should get more for its patrimony, beyond a defensive ring. Beyond the promise of a ring of steel on sea, on land, and some bauxite in the airspace. This is not about some grand bargain; only a well-thought out, well-fleshed out one. Guyana must not progress from an old one-sided deal to a new one-sided setup. This is my hang-up.
Guyana wants protection, and America wants Venezuela. Lots of US muscle being applied here. There must be a bigger payoff for surrendering independence, for taking a backseat to our own frontline defense of homeland and hearth. The PPP of Ali and Jagdeo took the easiest, quickest, road out: outsource Guyana’s defense to the US. Maduro and his merry-men overextended themselves by aiming at Exxon. The US had its Gulf of Tonkin resolution ready. I believe that Guyana overcompensated and got itself stuck in a suck-sand.
Maduro said he wanted to talk. Jagdeo decided that it is better talking to Rubio. What did Maduro have in mind: a quarter, a third, a half? Whatever he did, America just came in and took over all of Guyana without one harsh word said, or one shot fired in anger. Not yet. In all this, I conclude that there are two instances of the law of unintended consequences at work in heating up, revving up Guyana. The first is that Mr. Maduro went too far, and look what he did to himself and his people. The second is that Jagdeo went to the mat and the max for America, and the consequences of that will only be detected later. Meanwhile, the Chinese are mighty unhappy. Jagdeo is best equipped to manage that fallout. How I see it, call it.