Advantage, Mr. Chávez -- Venezuelan caudillo puts the Obama administration on the defensive

Washington Post ^ | August 24, 2009

[La Lydia]

In the course of the past month, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has been exposed as a supplier of advanced weapons to a terrorist group that seeks to overthrow Colombia's democratic government. In his own country, he has shut down 32 independent radio stations. His rubber-stamp National Assembly has passed laws to gerrymander districts in next year's parliamentary elections and eliminate the autonomy of universities. Chávez has pledged to purchase dozens of tanks from Russia, and scheduled a trip to Tehran...

So, naturally, Latin American leaders are planning a summit in Argentina this month to urgently confer about...an unremarkable U.S.-Colombian agreement for American forces to use a few Colombian military bases for counternarcotics and counterterrorism surveillance operations...it's perfectly clear that it would not bring about a significant increase in U.S. military operations in Latin America or pose a threat to anyone other than the drug traffickers and FARC terrorists, the group that Mr. Chávez has been supporting in clear violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and the Organization of American States charter...

...mostly the controversy reflects another successful effort by Mr. Chávez to deflect attention from his own behavior while putting the Obama administration on the defensive. Ever since reports of the agreement began appearing in the Colombian media, the Venezuelan leader has been braying about the "winds of war" supposedly blowing through South America...

It shouldn't be hard to refute such nonsense, but the Obama administration's response was late and underpowered...Nor has the administration tried to call attention to the genuine and serious hostile actions that Mr. Chávez has taken against his neighbors and the democratic opposition in his own country. Those should rightfully be the subject of urgent inter-American consultations. That they are not shows how far the administration is from mounting effective Latin American diplomacy.

[La Lydia]

So, even the Washington Post notices the weak, criminally inept BO foreign policy in Latin America. This on top of the Scotland episode, which would have been unthinkable under Bush. How bad has it got to be when the BO-loving Wash Post points it out on the editorial page.

[ETL]

So, even the Washington Post notices the weak, criminally inept BO foreign policy in Latin America

BS. Obama and Chavez are on board on just about everything, especially on encouraging Marxist dictatorships to spread throughout Latin America.

President Obama and Venezuela dictator Hugo
Chavez at the 2009 Summit of the Americas in Trinidad

Obama, Chavez shake hands at Americas Summit:
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D97KK2T00&show_article=1
_____________________________________________________

From National Public Radio (NPR):
August 29, 2006
"Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has been visiting countries such as China, Iran and Russia as part of an effort to build a 'strategic alliance' of interests not beholden to the United States. He considers the United States his arch enemy.":
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5729764
_____________________________________________________

From the Russian News and Information Agency:
July 27, 2006
"'I am determined to expand relations with Russia,' Chavez, known as an outspoken critic of what he calls the United States' unilateralism, told the Russian leader, adding that his determination stemmed from their shared vision of the global order.":
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20060727/51913498.html
_____________________________________________________

Venezuela Set to Develop Nuclear Power With Russia
September 29, 2008
CARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chavez said Sunday that Russia will help Venezuela develop nuclear energy — a move likely to raise U.S. concerns over increasingly close cooperation between Caracas and Moscow.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,429441,00.html
_____________________________________________________

Venezuela's Chavez welcomes Russian warships
Nov 25, 2008
LA GUAIRA, Venezuela – Russian warships arrived off Venezuela's coast Tuesday in a show of strength aimed at the United States as Moscow seeks to expand its influence in Latin America. The deployment is the first of its kind in the Caribbean since the Cold War and was timed to coincide with President Dmitry Medvedev's visit to Caracas — the first ever by a Russian president.
http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=%22Venezuela%27s+Chavez+welcomes+Russian+warships%22&ei=UTF-8&fr=moz2

More Yahoo search results for Russia and Venezuela connections:
http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0geu_X30pZJCJEAfCtXNyoA?p=Russia+Venezuela+bombers+tanks+arms&y=Search&fr=404_news
_____________________________________________________

"the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the [20th] century" -Russian leader Vladimir Putin on the collapse of the Soviet Union...
"World democratic opinion has yet to realize the alarming implications of President Vladimir Putin's State of the Union speech on April 25, 2005, in which he said that the collapse of the Soviet Union represented the 'greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.'
http://www.hooverdigest.org/053/beichman.html

_____________________________________________________

Russia's Medvedev hails "comrade" Obama

Associated Foreign Press (AFP) ^ | April 2, 2009 | Anna Smolchenko

"Russia's Dmitry Medvedev hailed Barack Obama as "my new comrade" Thursday after their first face-to-face talks"

http://www.france24.com/en/20090402-russias-medvedev-hails-comrade-obama

April 1, 2009:
"Obama, Medvedev pledge new era of relations":
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090401/wl_afp/usrussiadiplomacynuclear_20090401152002

[ETL]

Strike the “BS” in my previous post. It’s actually a pretty decent article from the Washington Post.

[wac3rd]

Pandering to Muslims, “Fairness” doctorines, gerrymandering, speech codes, ACORN & SEIU, the well-fed liberals at WaPo are now fearing a real Marxist in Obama, the man they jumped on their swords for. There are a lot of BO and Chevez similarities.

[ETL]

From the article...

"It shouldn't be hard to refute such nonsense, but the Obama administration's response was late and underpowered...Nor has the administration tried to call attention to the genuine and serious hostile actions that Mr. Chávez has taken against his neighbors and the democratic opposition in his own country."

The article does seem to leave out the fact that Obama himself is a Marxist dictator, and that that is the primary reason he's being soft on what's happening in Latin America.

[La Lydia]

I was really surprised to read this in the Wash Post. Worm is turning.

[Candor7]

The WAPO is pointing out that Chavez is turning Venezuela into a target range for US Air Strikes.

The WAPO is wondering why Obama does not understnd this simple fact.

Well , its because Obama does NOT want to understand this simple fact. His successor will instantaneously, when Obama resigns the presidency or is impeached.