Venezuelan troops get provocative book

Miami Herald ^ | November 15, 2005 | PHIL GUNSON

[Cincinatus' Wife]

CARACAS - A book published and distributed by the Venezuelan army argues that ''revolutionary Islam'' and U.S. religious extremism are moral equivalents and quotes approvingly from the Venezuelan terrorist known as Carlos the Jackal.

The 250-page Peripheral Warfare and Revolutionary Islam was written by Spanish politician and academic Jorge Verstrynge and is being distributed on the personal orders of Army Chief Gen. Raúl Baduel, a long-time supporter of leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.

Baduel's office said he's not available for an interview until January. Armed Forces Inspector General Gen. Melvin López Hidalgo said he was unaware of the book but argued that its publication by the army should not be taken as ''tacit support for the opinions it contains.'' It's simply an example of ''freedom of expression,'' he added.

The book focuses on asymmetrical warfare, a term for ''David and Goliath'' conflicts between adversaries of vastly different capacities, such as the war between U.S. forces and Iraqi insurgents.

Verstrynge was a keynote speaker at a recent military conference in Caracas on asymmetrical warfare, which has been adopted by the Venezuelan military as a key defensive concept, based on a possible attack by U.S. forces to seize Venezuela's oil wealth or topple Chávez.

''For us, it would have to be a war of resistance,'' said Baduel in a speech last month.

Chávez, an anti-American populist who has vowed to build a revolutionary ''21st Century socialism'' in Venezuela, has repeatedly alleged that Washington plans to assassinate him and invade his country -- allegations strongly denied by the Bush administration.

Verstrynge, born in Morocco to Belgian and Spanish parents, was a leading member of Spain's right-wing Popular Party before switching to the ruling Socialists. A political-science professor at Madrid's Complutense University, he has authored a number of other books.

'It is unfair to attack `revolutionary Islam' '' and not ''U.S. religious extremism,'' he wrote, adding that Washington has plans to ''re-colonize'' the world that he called ``a danger never equaled in history.''

NOT A TERRORIST

Retired Gen. Alberto Mueller, an advisor to the Defense Ministry, said the army is publishing several books on asymmetrical warfare because, with no conventional central command once the war starts, it's important for a soldier to know ''different currents of thought so that he can choose'' a course of action, depending on the circumstances.

Such a conflict would be, ''a war without rules,'' Mueller added, and 'you cannot call a man a `terrorist' for defending his own country.''

One foreign military officer in Venezuela, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of his job, said the Venezuelan army does appear to be endorsing the book's contents. ''It's even got the army's coat of arms on it,'' the official said. ``What more of an endorsement could you have?''

Verstrynge's book, which relies heavily on quotes from other people, also repeatedly cites the words of Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, better known as Carlos the Jackal, a terrorist active in Europe and the Middle East in the 1970s.

An admirer of Osama bin Laden, Ramírez is best-known for his daring kidnap of 11 OPEC oil ministers in Vienna in 1975. He was seized in Sudan in 1994 and transported to France, where he is serving a life sentence for the 1975 murder of two secret agents and an informer in Paris.

Chávez sparked a controversy in 1999 by writing an effusive response to a letter from the jailed terrorist in which he signed off, ''with profound faith in the cause and in the mission -- now and forever!'' The president later said the letter did not imply ``political solidarity.''

SUICIDE BOMBINGS

Verstrynge quotes approvingly from Ramírez's view that suicide bombings are morally superior to conventional bombings because they produce fewer unintended civilian deaths.

Terrorism is ''profoundly human,'' Verstrynge quotes the Venezuelan as saying, because it puts ''the flesh-and-blood man . . . back at the center of the battle'' instead of hardware, and ``saves lives.''

These views contrast with the Venezuelan government's official position of condemning all forms of terrorism. Chávez on Thursday condemned the terror bombings in Jordan, and his government has fiercely attacked Washington's failure to extradite to Venezuela Cuban exile Luis Posada Carriles, accused of several terror attacks.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Hurricane Hugo***.....Days afterward, Chávez accused Washington of unleashing "real terrorism" in Iraq and called for a "jihad" on American imperialism. Appearing on Al Jazeera, he described President Bush's foreign policy as vigilante violence: "It is not a war on terrorism, it is terrorism itself." From Iran, Chávez traveled to China, where he announced that China would replace the United States as the principal beneficiary of Venezuelan oil. By the end of his trip, Chávez had signed agreements with President Hu Jintao granting the China National Petroleum Corporation control of 15 Venezuelan oil fields, thereby securing for China a billion barrels of Venezuelan crude. Shortly after, Chávez declared himself a Marxist-Leninist in a speech in Calcutta. He then signed petroleum agreements with the Indian government while again indicating his desire to cut off Venezuelan oil exports to the United States.

In addition to his ideological alliances, petro-politics, and support for guerrilla terror throughout Latin America, Chávez has begun expanding Venezuela's military capability. In the past year he has more than tripled the Venezuelan military budget, purchasing 20 high-performance MiG fighter jets and 100,000 AK-47 machine gun rifles from the Russian government as well as an unprecedented number of helicopter gunships, surface-to-air missiles, and Onyx missiles (which can sink aircraft carriers). This spring, Chávez defended Iran's nuclear development program after warmly receiving their president in Venezuela and signing new "technological" treaties. In March he announced the creation of a two-million man reserve army to defend the revolution "against the American invasion." ...***

In this photo released by Miraflores, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez speaks in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2005, where he called his Mexican counterpart a 'puppy' that bowed to the United States for supporting a Washington-backed free trade zone at the Summit of the Americas. (AP Photo/Miraflores Press)

Hugo Chavez - Venezuela

[SPRINK]

Thank you Jimmy Carter. He is the gift that keeps on giving.

[Jet Jaguar]

Ping to what may be a pertinent article.

[LIConFem]

"Verstrynge quotes approvingly from Ramírez's view that suicide bombings are morally superior to conventional bombings because they produce fewer unintended civilian deaths."

What??? So intended civilian deaths are better than unintended?? And don't most suicide bombings/terrorists generally target civilians only??

If liberalism is a mental disorder, Communism is a malignant form of brain death.

[rlmorel]

I say we bite the bullet and take him out now.

He may come across as a stupid clown full of bluster, but a syphilytic one-armed paper hanger with a stupid mustache and a bad haircut was responsible for the misery and death of millions.

We will be sorry if we don't.

[backhoe]

I guess Americans will wake up to this:

-The Fire Down South...( Latin America--)--

About the same time they wake up to:

-Islam, a Religion of Peace®? Some links...--

[sure_fine]

peanut bump

[Cincinatus' Wife]

I certainly hope so backhoe.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

We're damned if we do and damned if we don't.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

If liberalism is a mental disorder, Communism is a malignant form of brain death.

To them individual deaths mean nothing. It's the masses they need and Hugo's buying them as fast as he can.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

No kidding.

[HighlyOpinionated]

Such a conflict would be, ''a war without rules,'' Mueller added

So, it's come down to "Captain Chaos" versus "Captain America" has it?

Time to bring the Enola Gay back into the picture!

[wtc911]

Communism is a malignant form of brain death.

============================================

True, and it is back with an openness I don't recall seeing in years. We watch various news broadcasts and commentary forums from around the world (the wonder of satellite TV). The communists are becoming bold. They are once again wearing their party on their sleeves - or to be more accurate - around their necks. I see more and more plain red neck-ties on the men and plain red blazers on the women. That is a very deliberate statement of communist sympathies that has its roots in the early 20th century labor movement.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Chavez is talking nuclear too.

[wolfcreek]

Chavez is talking nuclear too.

Ah, oil money, what won't it buy!

[airborne]

Not till cars are burning in the streets of America.

[Thunder90]

Why does he need such a large army. Sounds like the commie is getting ready for war over the entire Latin america. Add the possiblility of having the Nicaraguan and Cuban armies, and Russian and Chinese support, and you have a really bad situation.

[Thunder90]

It is the same in Russia (Putin admitting he's loyal to the KGB)