I guess this counts as ancient history for most Americans; otherwise, Fox News would be all over it, Steve King and Darrell Issa would be calling biweekly congressional panels to investigate the worst scandal since Carter lost China, and Rush would talk of nothing else until the next thing came up.
But for those of us who are still interested in Latin America, the official end of the much-despised Monroe Doctrine is at least a semi-big deal. And here it is: Secretary of State John Kerry has gone on record as saying that "the era of the Monroe Doctrine is over."
The occasion was a speech before the Organization of American States. (Yep, they're still around, and they still won't let Cuba into their clubhouse.) Here is the Monroe Doctrine section at the head of a long speech:
Fifty years ago, President Kennedy spoke about the promise of the Western Hemisphere, and in what would become, sadly, his final address on foreign policy. President Kennedy expressed his hope for a hemisphere of nations, each confident in the strength of its own independence, devoted to the liberty of its citizens. If he could only see where we are today. In the half century since he spoke, more and more countries are coming closer and closer to realizing his vision and all of our hopes.
When people speak of the Western Hemisphere, they often talk about transformations that have taken place, but the truth is one of the biggest transformations has happened right here in the United States of America. In the early days of our republic, the United States made a choice about its relationship with Latin America. President James Monroe, who was also a former Secretary of State, declared that the United States would unilaterally, and as a matter of fact, act as the protector of the region. The doctrine that bears his name asserted our authority to step in and oppose the influence of European powers in Latin America. And throughout our nation’s history, successive presidents have reinforced that doctrine and made a similar choice.
Today, however, we have made a different choice. The era of the Monroe Doctrine is over. The relationship... (Kerry pauses in response to hesitant applause, and extemporizes:) That’s worth applauding. That’s not a bad thing. (Big applause, then back to the speech.) The relationship that we seek and that we have worked hard to foster is not about a United States declaration about how and when it will intervene in the affairs of other American states. It’s about all of our countries viewing one another as equals, sharing responsibilities, cooperating on security issues, and adhering not to doctrine, but to the decisions that we make as partners to advance the values and the interests that we share.
From here the speech continues for what must have been many, many minutes of Kerry telling the assembled diplomats what they already knew and/or what he thought they wanted to hear. Not much to report from that pablum, but this bit stands out as something perhaps a little bit new.
It has been true for several years that the Monroe Doctrine was far past its sell-by date. I can't remember the last time it was seriously invoked even by the hawkers and shysters of Conventional Wisdom. But it is rather refreshing to hear official Washington acknowledge the fact that it's over.
Want links? Here ya go: Secretary Kerry's remarks and the CBC news report that tipped me off.