Article

2004-02-10 Caribbean-Latin America

al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, and Hamas active in Triple Border

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Posted by Dan Darling 2004-02-10 12:21:30 AM|| || Front Page|| [2 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Those Moslems might feel like big fish in that little pond, but if they swim out to the edges of that triangle they might realize they are immersed in an ocean of Roman Catholics.

Posted by Mike Sylwester 2004-2-10 3:33:38 AM|| 2004-2-10 3:33:38 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 There are some leftist movements in thar area too - the Andes is in danger of becoming a serious hotbed of violence soon. Columbians have begun moving to Peru and the Shining Path is active again.

Chavez has sent supporters to train in Cuba in order to put down the opposition at the next Venezuelan elections. Lulu in Brazil hates the US and has sabotaged attempts at trade and other relationships between south American countries and the US.

It's going to be a long next few decades, folks.

Posted by rkb 2004-2-10 6:33:51 AM|| 2004-2-10 6:33:51 AM|| Front Page Top

#3 Another factor here is that Chavez is reportedly giving Venezuelan passports to Islamacist foreigners. He is Not Our Friend - but then, we're not his either.

Posted by rkb 2004-2-10 6:46:02 AM|| 2004-2-10 6:46:02 AM|| Front Page Top

#4 Lulu, iiuc, has run a relatively moderate domestic policy - not repealing capitalism or anything. Sure he's pushing Mercosur instead of FTAA - Brazil is a would be great power throwing its weight around - more analgous to India, or France (except France is declining) than to Chavez.

remember folks - not everybody who has an independent agenda in world politics, and who even enters into rivalry with us, hates us.

Posted by liberalhawk 2004-2-10 9:19:11 AM|| 2004-2-10 9:19:11 AM|| Front Page Top

#5 remember folks - not everybody who has an independent agenda in world politics, and who even enters into rivalry with us, hates us.

But that's the way to bet.

Posted by Robert Crawford 2004-2-10 9:43:35 AM|| [http://www.kloognome.com] 2004-2-10 9:43:35 AM|| Front Page Top

#6 im more inclined to bet on self-interest, rather than hatred, unless there is evidence otherwise.

Posted by liberalhawk 2004-2-10 11:16:39 AM|| 2004-2-10 11:16:39 AM|| Front Page Top

#7 The evidence is mixed.

On the one hand, Lula de Silva has become (in the short run at least) something of a fiscal moderate, with the result that Brazil has been able to attract lower interest loans and other financial securities interest.

On the other hand, there are quotes like this one from a BBC interview last July: "If it is true that the 20th century was the century in which Europe and the US lived through economic recovery and sustainable growth, the 21st century could be century in which some of the wealth, accumulated over the years, could be distributed."

The question is: distributed how? Among other things, he is pushing for an "international tax on financial transactions". I'm not thrilled by the idea of a UN-managed compulsory global tax, no matter how worthy the cause (eliminating poverty).

A year ago he told the World Economic Forum: "
We would like to appeal to you to make scientific discoveries universally available, so that their benefits can be enjoyed by all countries of the world." In the context of the full speech, it is clear that he wants those discoveries to be given for free - no patents on seeds, drugs etc.

I understand the challenges of a country like Brazil, but I don't think this is the way they will ultimately be met.

His recent cabinet shuffle moves his administration to the center on many policies and looks to be a good thing.

In the meanwhile, he has been a strong supporter of Chavez. And while he cites the need to respect election results for that support, he turns a conveniently blind eye to actions Chavez is taking to ensure that the next election will go his way

Posted by rkb 2004-2-10 4:13:26 PM|| 2004-2-10 4:13:26 PM|| Front Page Top

#8 Been thinking about this topic while driving home today.

I'm not sure Lula "hates" the US, unlike (say) Chavez. OTOH I do think he is less benign than many of my liberal friends assume. He is deliberately building close alliances with China, Russia and to a lesser degree India; he openly wants to use the UN to transfer power and wealth to 3rd world countries and would not mind a mildly coercive regime to make that happen.

He walks an interesting - and shifting - line between leftist and centrist policies, but with a potential resurgence of far left movements in south America, he may find himself needing to shift leftward hard or lose power. In such a climate, with some preliminary signs that far left and Islamacist groups see themselves as sharing certain goals, I doubt we can expect him to do anything about al Qaeda, Hamas and Hizbollah setting up shop on his borders.

Posted by rkb 2004-2-10 7:16:26 PM|| 2004-2-10 7:16:26 PM|| Front Page Top

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