Ja: We don't hate Americans, we just hate Bush

Regarding the recent contretemps between Caricom and the US State Department concerning the Haiti stand-off, it is believed unbending Caribbean countries, and Jamaica in particular, will feel the heavy hand of the U S for their recalcitrance.

Whether this perception will be borne out in reality is another matter - and one which challenges the U S administration to show that it is not the perpetrator of childish vindictiveness.

Again, I have not yet seen evidence which clearly establishes that Caribbean leaders who failed to cooperate with the U S position on Haiti and Aristide, are about to pay dearly for standing up to US pressure.

Caricom should pay a price for acting against the interests of Haiti and its people. However, it isunlikely that Caricom will, for the Caribbean is as the U.S.'s southern border in the war on terror -- if only they'd admit it.

There has been a big set-back in Jamaican regard for the US administration over the war against Iraq. Mark Wignall, colleague columnist and opinion pollster, recently observed that there is a majority unity among Jamaicans (my words) in their objection to the Iraq war and in anti-Bush sentiment.

This is what my own casual discussions also find, and it is, as my readers know, similar to my position. This sentiment is the only matter in which, of late, Jamaicans of all political stripes drop their differences and share a common position.

It is not, repeat not, anti-Americanism per se. And it is not anti-the present US ambassador to Jamaica. Sue Cobb has demonstrated apparently genuine care for Jamaicans and she is reaping positive payback, even though she firmly supports her president, who has very little support here.

There is a real prospect, though, that the current American administration's behaviour, as global police state, is reviving the image once in vogue abroad of "the Ugly American". The recent revelations of torture of prisoners in Iraq by American militia do not help. Such images unfortunately tend to make us forget that a great percentage of Americans are thoroughly decent people, and in fact in growing numbers are also opposing their government's position.

Now the position that Caricom took with regard to Haiti becomes abundantly clear. Caricom nations -- the leaders and the people -- are profoundly against freedom from oppression for all people everywhere, except, of course, for themselves.