| EFL - see the link for the whole thing. |
Those who have been following the situation in Venezuela are by now familiar with President Hugo Chavez's repeated claims that the U.S. government seeks to assassinate him. In fact, these claims are treated -- like those of Fidel Castro, Chavez's partner in International Thug Life -- as if they are statements of objective truth. For this we have to thank two seemingly disparate groups. One group is represented by countries in need of demonstrated oil reserves, such as China; the Chinese and others around the world. The other group lies closer to home -- useful idiots and communist symps in the U.S. media, who advocate the cause of Chavez to spite their own national interest. These toxic pronouncements from both home and abroad are a one-two punch square against the jaw of the Monroe Doctrine. And, as I've written before here, the longer we wait to act, the less possible corrective action is. Throughout his presidency, we have seen Chavez reaching out to Asia with more confidence with each passing month. He presents himself and his nation as a handy economic lever, attractively priced for a long-term lend lease. His logic is simple: Why wouldn't it be in the interests of foreign powers to have a loose cannon in Latin America, frustrating US aims and advancing their own?
Chavez understands that his situation depends upon exacerbating tensions between Great Powers. Perhaps he continues to insist that his assassination is imminent to stoke those very tensions. On recent editions of his weekly live TV and radio programs, Chavez has sounded like Ayatollah Khomeini or Kim Jong-il. He has advanced the theory that the U.S. is planning to assassinate him, saying "If they kill me, there will be a really guilty party on this planet whose name is the president of the United States, George Bush. If, by the hand of the devil, those perverse plans succeed ... Forget about Venezuelan oil, Mr. Bush," he said.