America The Violent And Stupid

The idea of the U.S. taking action against Venezuela is absurd to anyone I can imagine reading this 'blog. I've been writing about the Bolivarian Revolution for awhile. And it really honks me off when a journalist refers to Chavez as a, "dictator." The man was democratically elected, and is expected to will again in December! Even with dozens of candidates running, Chavez' level of support is around 60%. Man is that irritating. As I write this, a Venezuelan flag flaps in the breeze from my fan. The picture on the left is of me, just a few minutes ago via my webcam. I'm such a supporter of Chavez that I'm afraid of what I might do to protest any military action we may take in Venezuela. That's sounds ominous, but given my natural timidity I'll probably just pee on an American flag or something.

Earlier this summer, I read a story from Hands of Venezuela. It was about the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba, a group that is co-chaired by Condi Rice and Secretery of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez. At this point, they have an approved budget of nearly $80 million to help bring about a "transition" away from Castro and Communism. Large portions of the 93 page report are classified, mainly the parts that speak of Venezuela's role in helping Cuba and the details of the anticipated "transition to freedom." Since Venezuela is seen as Cuba's closest friend, both abstractly and in the form of the relationship between Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro, it will have to be dealt with, as well.

Chavez is sometimes accused of paranoia. He often speaks about U.S. involvement in the 2002 coup against him (which is true), and about the future hostilities that Washington has planned. But Chavez is anything but paranoid. It was recently discovered that the United States has been funding opposition parties in Venezuela through non-governmental organizations (NGO). It is a violation of Venezuelan law to accept money from another country for use in a domestic political campaign. Chavez took action to reduce and regulate this activity, but it provides us an edifying look into the way the U.S. operates. And in the west, the U.S. gives $850 million annually to Columbia, ostensibly for the "War on Drugs." In reality, most of it is specifically set aside for military operations unrelated to drugs of any kind. Many analysts are of the opinion that that money could end up in the hands of mercenaries (or even Columbian special operations soldiers). Why is this a threat to Venezuela? Because her valuable oil fields, which are in the west near the Columbian border, are vulnerable to attack. Those fields have been shut down before, by corrupt union people during the coup.

So Chavez isn't paranoid, he is letting experience and what he knows about the U.S. be his guide. And as a U.S. citizen, I think he has reason to be on edge. A strong argument could be made that the United States is the biggest threat to world peace. And Cuba and Venezuela should be concerned. The U.S. is dangerous, stupid and influential. Not a good combination.