[Eric in the Ozarks]

Trouble is, Communists and their structure are hard to get rid of after they gain power. The only Communist to put his rule up for a vote was Danny Ortega and he got whipped.

[Man of the Right]

I criticize Bush and Powell for not having a strong Dep Sec State for Inter-American Affairs who can handle the matter while the big boys are focused elsewhere.

However, unless China grows into a world power, there's no way to consolidate a communist revolution. Even then controlling a third-world country is no longer strategic. Ortega took power and immediately went to Moscow expecting he'd get the same blank check Castro got in 1960. The Russians said congratulations and good luck, but you're on your own. Accordingly, the Sandinistas never consolidated power. When we got a President with some backbone, a shoe-string operation knocked them off.

Communism is a great way to gain and hold power. The problem is the economy collapses, so you need unlimited foreign financial and military support. You need weapons and people who know how to use them to hold off the U.S.

Venezuela is a threat because they have oil revenues. However, the oil industry will collapse rapidly under communist mismanagement. To keep wells going, you need technical expertise, spare parts, technicians, money, and markets.

Elections are Chavez's Achille heel. If a free election was held, he'd lose. If the Daley organization was counting votes, he'd still lose. If he prevents the next election, he will give the U.S. the necessary pretext to overthrow him. The Venezuelan military is not going to fight the U.S. They're with us. If they're weren't, they have no alternative source of spare parts, munitions, and weapons. You don't take on the U.S. without a superpower in your corner. Unfortunately for Chavez, the only superpower is the U.S.

For those reasons communism is a dead end for a country that wants to commit national suicide.