Obama's edict: Cambodia is no longer Communist

Daily KOS
http://www.dailykos.com

by Nomoreimperialism

Tue Jun 16, 2009

I don't know who prevailed upon the President of the USA to hand down an edict declaring Laos and Cambodia red-free, but nevertheless, here it is. On 12 June 2009, President Obama issued Presidential Determinations to the effect that both Laos and Cambodia were no longer deemed to be communist.

Nomoreimperialism's diary :: ::

...Under Section 2(b)(2) of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945, as amended

Pursuant to the authority vested in me by section 2(b)(C) of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945, as amended (12 U.S.C. 635(b)(2)(C)), I hereby determine that The Lao People's Democratic Republic has ceased to be a Marxist-Leninist country within the definition of such term in section 2(b)(2)(B)(i) of that Act.

Under Section 2(b)(2) of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945, as amended

Pursuant to the authority vested in me by section 2(b)(C) of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945, as amended (12 U.S.C. 635(b)(2)(C)), I hereby determine that the Kingdom of Cambodia has ceased to be a Marxist-Leninist country within the definition of such term in section 2(b)(2)(B)(i) of that Act.

The Export-Import Bank is a government agency that is charged with financing and promoting exports of U.S. goods and services, often regulated by Congress to promote certain right-wing political agendas. According to the CRS:

In 1968, through P.L. 90-267, Congress established Subsection 2 of 12 USC Sec. 635(b), which expressly restricted the Bank from providing its services to any Communist country and designated 30 countries as Communist countries. Congress amended this restriction in 1986 through P.L. 99-472 to specify that the Bank could not provide insurance, guarantees, or credit to purchase or lease any product by a Communist country, including any agency, or national of the country, unless the President determined that such a transaction was in the U.S. national interest. In 1992, Congress amended this section through P.L. 102-429, which removed the designation "Communist country" by replacing it with "Marxist-Leninist" country and reduced to nine18 the number of countries that are Marxist-Leninist.19 The President can waive this prohibition if he determines that a country is no longer a Marxist-Leninist country, or that doing so is in the national interest. The President is required to make such a determination for each transaction over $50 million and he is required to notify Congress.

Imperialism is sometimes seen as an economic system in which the imperial metropole radiates spokes of control outward to the periphery through financing and militarism. Ex-Im serves the function of leveraging credit to increase economic dependence on the US imperial metropole. American corporations with willing collaborators at the other end of the pipeline have a great advantage over local businesses.

The official organ of the Cambodian regime said Cambodia welcomes US lifting of loan ban. The Phnom Penh Post (15 June 2009) barely mentioned this cosmic shift in ecomomic status, although it did note that Cambodian People's Party lawmaker Cheam Yeap said that he had urged US officials to take steps to bolster bilateral trade when his delegation was in Washington recently. Yanks have no idea of the power that the US can exercise.

Why didn't Bush II issue this edict first? Maybe the "terrist" segue was too tenuous for Bush II to stimulate an interest.