The New York Times is reporting that lobbyists have been paid at least $400,000 so far to lobby Congress on behalf of the defacto Micheletti government after Manuel Zelaya was deposed.  Cold War warriors Otto Reich, Roger Noriega, and Daniel Fisk, who served under Bush and Reagan and authored much of the US policy toward Central America, have signed on to support Micheletti.  They apparently view the struggle as crucial to striking a blow against Hugo Chavez, whose influence they equate with that of the former Soviet Union.

Roger Noriega was the author of the Helm-Burton act, which tightened the embargo against Cuba.

We have not learned much about Senator Jim deMint's 'fact-finding' co-del to Honduras last week, but he and his group apparently met with a group of Honduran businessmen who must see Zelaya as an enemy to their interests.

All of this is causing mixed signals to the Honduran government.  Lanny Davis, who has close ties to Hillary Clinton, arranged the meeting with eight Senators and supporters of the Micheletti government.  The Cormac Group, run by a former aid of John McCain, has also been hired to help fight back against Obama's tightening of sanctions against the defacto government.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/08/world/americas/08honduras.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper

It does remind me of the many unanswered questions about John McCain's trip to Georgia just before the brief war between Georgia and Russia over South Ossetia.  What might he have said to Saakashvlli  just days before Georgian troops fired on Russians?  I know it was a campaign ploy when he stood mightily and declared, "Today we are all Georgians."

Then-candidate Obama didn't take the bait at first, and said in effect, "Whoa, Nellie!  Let's find out who was the true aggressor here.  Later he knuckled, and voted to send a billion bucks to Georgia...

A recent report issue by EU investigators blamed both sides, but sure didn't mention John McCain's involvement.

http://nvijays.wordpress.com/2009/09/29/georgia-russia-war-postmortum-eu-report-blames-both-sides/

Cold War mentalities and the Domino Effect theory seem to be still Living Large.

And meanwhile Republicans are blocking several of Obama's nominees to the State Department, rather like holding them hostage to the White House's backing of Zelaya.

Bugger!