President Morales grounded: A bad day for Obama

Make no mistake President Barack Obama is the most powerful man in the world. And when he wants to call in international favours, which could have easily jeopardised the life of a Bolivian President Evo Morales, it appears that he is prepared to sanction it.

Last night it emerged that the Bolivian President’s plane, which was leaving Moscow after the presidential visit, was refused air space across a number of European countries including Spain, France, Italy and Portugal. The unspoken reason for this unprecedented action was because the US believed that Morales had the surveillance whistleblower Edward Snowden on board.

It appears from an unconfirmed flight conversations that Morales' plane asked permission to land in Vienna, Austria because they were running out of fuel.

In Bolivia, Vice-President Alvaro Garcia said Italy and Spain were denying the plane permission to fly through their airspace. He described Morales as being "kidnapped by imperialism" in Europe.

All this week President Obama has been trying to limit the damage of the fallout from Snowden’s revelations that the USA has been spying on its European partners. Now this incident has enraged Bolivia and many other Latin American countries who are enraged that a sovereign leader can be treated in this way.

As for the whistle-blower Snowden, no one except those close to him, know where he is. He hasn’t been seen on the plane, and if he is still in Moscow after this incident, one wonders how he will ever get out.

For America and particularly Obama this is not looking good. To the Americans, Obama will appear that he is not in control - to many outside the US, he and the American government are acting like imperialist bullies, ready to compromise other nation states in order to get their way.

We are right to expect better from Obama and from the United States of America.

Simon Woolley