The classic film "The Mouse That Roared", starring Peter Sellers, first popularised the concept of a minuscule, innocent Duchy of Grand Fenwick declaring war on the United States of America and the financial benefits which can be accessed by such a challenge.
Now, a small twin-island country in the Caribbean, known as the sovereign nation of Antigua & Barbuda, with some 70,000 inhabitants, mired in malgovernance and financial corruption and linked to serious international crime, has decided to follow this example.
For many years now, the Government of Antigua has been involved in breaching international treaties and establishing new friendships with countries whose leaders eschew democratic principles and rail against the precepts that form the foundations of free world economies. It appears to be frustrated that this behaviour does not bring the response that would signal international attention, and it is now choosing to test the limits of international patience.
Unrecognized for its exaltation of the leaders of Cuba, Zimbabwe and Venezuela, the Government of Antigua, has recently signed on to the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), Hugo Chavez' answer to Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).
ALBA'S most recent public announcement was its expression of support for Iran, despite the sanctions imposed by the United Nations against that country: "We ratify the support of our governments to the sovereign right of the Islamic Republic of Iran to generate atomic energy and use it with peaceful aims..."
Antigua's ambassador to Venezuela is hedging Antigua's position by claiming that Antigua did not specifically sign the letter.
Regardless, Antigua has received no additional attention for this show of animosity.
Recently, Antigua's Prime Minister, the Honourable Dr. Winston Baldwin Spencer, renewed his attack on the US in the matter of offshore betting by announcing his determination to implement hostile trade sanctions against the United States of America. This proposal has made the front page of several Caribbean newspapers but has been roundly ignored by all international press.
The apparent support received by Antigua from Caricom for this endeavour has also fallen into the black hole of international silence.
As frustrating as it is, still, no benefits accrue.
Unsatisfied with the notoriety already established by its collaboration with various fraudsters, such as the late Bruce Rappaport, William Cooper and most recently R. Allen Stanford, the Government of Antigua continues to clamour for international attention by doing what it does best: play the poor, small, weak island-nation card, while escalating opposition to the interests of those very same governments which it holds duty bound to provide Antigua with an ongoing stream of financial assistance.
Here, it has been rewarded by a token loan from the IMF, to be advanced in small tranches over several years, contingent on a list of achievements which are unlikely to be attempted.
It will be interesting to see this relationship develop, as it is already based in willingness by the IMF to overlook certain indisputable facts.
What is roundly ignored by all is that the Government of Antigua & Barbuda has breached both non-negotiable basic tenets of the Caribbean Basin Initiative and the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act: it has expropriated American-owned property and it has aligned itself with the only remaining Communist countries. Either of these actions should cause its expulsion from the group of 26 nations granted preferential trading partner status with the US.
It has further exacerbated the expropriation issue by refusing to pay compensation to the American owners whose property it seized.
It is delaying the extradition of Leroy King, wanted on a warrant issued in the US to stand trial for his collusion with R. Allen Stanford to defraud thousands of international investors.
Most, if not all of Antigua's Ministers, on both sides of the political aisle, are complicit in Stanford's fraud and the Attorney General will do all that is necessary to protect them and their ill-gotten gains. Most pundits believe that chances of any restitution of Stanford's assets to his victims are slim to none, as Stanford's employees, along with his girl friend, continue to deal with Stanford's business interests/ventures on Antigua.
The Government of Antigua & Barbuda continues to have financial dealings with the World Bank, the IMF, the European Economic Development Fund, while collecting multi-million dollar gifts from Japan and China, Petrocarib "loans" from Venezuela, and negotiating new "business agreements" with Brazil, Kuwait and Libya.
It boasts of its high rating in the international ship registry community, while vessels flying the Antiguan flag are stopped with increasing frequency for smuggling major shipments of arms and drugs.
It is time - it is high time - for the international community to start paying attention and focussing to Antigua.
Perhaps, on July 13th 2010, an incident involving a great deal of pomp and circumstance that surrounded the two day stop-over on Antigua by the Prime Minister of Kuwait, Sheikh Nasser Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, became a starting point.
Red carpets were rolled out for his reception at the V.C. Bird International Airport and the local media reported a flurry of signed documents, testifying to renewed friendship between the countries.
Among the documents listed are a trade agreement, a cultural and artistic agreement, a memorandum of understanding to develop relations and co-operation in the political, economic and "other" fields, and an economic and technical cooperation agreement.
Somewhat belatedly, a Kuwaiti MP, Mussallam Al-Barrak is now publicly questioning the purpose of the visit by Al-Sabah and asking for details of the "deals" signed between the Kuwaiti Prime Minister and his Antiguan counterpart, Baldwin Spencer.
He argues that he cannot see how any dealings with a country with neither natural resources nor manufacturing skills and, therefore, "of no political weight regionally or globally," can serve the interests of Kuwait or its people.
It is to be remembered that a loan from the Government of Kuwait was initially received to fund the development of the airport on Antigua and at some time during the subsequent two decades that loan has been forgiven.
Forgiven, but not forgotten.
It may not be the attention Antigua's Government craves. But this rat will continue to roar - unless and until it is stopped.
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