Everyone's favorite Banana Republican, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela took time out from a busy schedule of personally rewriting the new Venezuelan constitution, making it illegal to criticize his regime, shutting down newspapers and having political opponents imprisoned, beaten and murdered in their homes to announce that the spirit of Josef Stalin appeared to him in a dream and told him that the United States was planning to have him assassinated, though Papa Joe neglected to mention that political assassinations are specifically prohibited in the United States under President Reagan's 1981 Executive Order 12333, which says, “No person employed by or acting on behalf of the United States Government shall engage in, or conspire to engage in, assassination," and which has been reaffirmed by every president since that time including President Bush.
Of course, based on Chavez' other statements - he's kind of obsessed with assassination - the US will have to wait in line because apparently everyone is trying to assassinate him, from his political opposition who object to having their businesses nationalized, to the families of protestors he had shot by snipers in 2002, to the leaders of a variety of foreign nations including Spain and Israel, and now his latest detractor noted American religious loony Pat Robertson whose secret plan may be to pray Chavez to death using the same powers he has used to influence the economy and weather in the past.
Despite our well-known prohibition on assassination, the United States is his number one concern. He recently said "If something happens to me, the responsible one will be George W. Bush, he would be the murderer,". With all those crying outrage over recent statements by Pat Robertson there's been a strange, uncomfortable silence and not one word of condemnation over Chavez accusing the President of the United States of being a murderer. Where is the left wing outrage machine when you need them?
Despite his fears of assassination, Chavez has many amigos around the world. These include his special friend and role model Fidel Castro who has just passed Francisco Franco to become the longest reigning totalitarian dictator in world history, Saddam Hussein who Chavez was the first world leader to visit on a friendship tour after the first Gulf War, the Mullahs in Iran who appreciate his unilateral support for their nuclear arms program and recently sent President Mohammed Khatami to address the Venezuelan Congess (see Al Jazeera), and of course Chinese president for life Hu Jintao who embraces Chavez for both loving socialism and having a lot of oil. And of course, Chavez has lots of friends in the American left who can't find too many good things to say about him over on the socialist lovefest at DailyKos. His hatred of America has served him well in building friendships around the world. Every terrorist leader, repressive dictator and ideological extremist wants to be his bunkie.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - RJ
Great post!
I've known two people from Venezuela. One was a roommate; the other was a co-worker.
Both thought the man was crackers.
But, that's just anecdotal...
Empiracally, he's a former coup-leader who hates the US, loves Castro, and brutally oppresses his political opposition.
2 - Rich
As if the United States has never had relationships with Dictators,theocratic States, Stalin, or socialist states.
Let's get something straight the US will do business with the devil himself if he has oil. It'is when they don't want to do business with us is when we start publically villifying them.
As for a socialist/communist State like China, the US is financing the Red Army off the clothes we wear, much less everything else we buy at Walmart.
3 - Dave Nalle
>>As if the United States has never had relationships with Dictators,theocratic States, Stalin, or socialist states.<<
Those relationships would include the Cold War, ousting a variety of dictators and toppling a number of socialist governments. But yes, those are still relationships.
>>Let's get something straight the US will do business with the devil himself if he has oil. It'is when they don't want to do business with us is when we start publically villifying them.<<
You do understand that our government doesn't generally buy foreign oil? Oil is bought by international oil distribution companies most of which have some US and some international interests controlling them. They aren't part of the government. They buy the oil and once they do, no one who produces it has any control over where it is sold. So if Chavez wants to withhold oil from the US, best of luck to him - all he'll do is shot down his own economy.
>>As for a socialist/communist State like China, the US is financing the Red Army off the clothes we wear, much less everything else we buy at Walmart.<<
But at least we can get cheap AK-47s at the gun show.
Dave
4 - John A. Conley
Dave, Good article and well written. Chavez isn't exactly on my x-mas card list but the man does have reason to be worried. Not only has he been accused publically and privately of supporting terror, he has the largest oil reserves in the western hemisphere. Bush doesn't have the best track record with countries accused of supporting terror and having lots of oil. Just a thought.
Still a good article.
-John
5 - Dave Nalle
I'd guess that Chavez is inflating the fear angle to score political points. He ought to be sophisticated enough to know that Bush doesn't need to invade countries to get oil.
Dave
6 - John A. Conley
If this was a equal size African nation with no oil and where 10 cents per hour is considered a high paying job, do you really think Chavez would even be on the right wing's radar?
-John
7 - adrien rain burke
Well, let's see, first we backed a coup that failed because Chavez had more support among the military than we'd bargained for. Then we supported strikes and lockouts designed to bring Venezuela to its knees, but he has the support of around 70-80 percent of the population, so that didn't work. Then we funneled millions of dollars to his opponents to instigate a referendum - which he won by a larger margin that he'd ever gotten - and which was overseen by one of our own ex-presidents. And of course we are refusing to turn over a known terrorist who was responsible for the blowing up of a civilian airliner. Having been behind the assassinations of LaMumba, Torrijos (probably) and Salvadore Allende (also elected) and having backed such lovelies as Pinochet, and the Duvaliers and having recently overthrown Haiti's elected and popular president to install murdering chaos - and now having one of the prez's best buds call for assassination - gee, Chavez must be really paranoid, huh?
8 - Gilberto
Please don't insult the decent americans that did not support all of the Republican mafias activities by saying "we" when reffering to their selfish demonic activity in Latin America. Right wingers have been behind right wing death squads that kill nuns, priests, missionaries, women, children, democraticly elected leaders and I can keep going. Hugo Chavez has reason to worry. He knows his plane may fall from the sky or he may die of seemingly natural causes due to the current favorite way for the powerfull mafiosos to kill - undetectable poisons. Just type in El Mezote in a google search to see one of the hundreds of examples of right wing death squads obliteriating kids heads by swinging them like bats from their legs against walls. Or schnider and kissinger to see how they assasinate innocent people for not helping them in evil plots to kill a democraticaly elected president. Type in Gary Webb and Contra so you can see how they distruibuted drugs in the U.S. to fund these activities when our government couldn't stomach them anymore. There are too many examples to list. But don't say we did it. They -the republican right wing mafia did it. We just fail to expose them and let them intimidate us by calling us commies, or the current it word -terrorist. Thats their ticket to pillage kill and leach off weaker nations. They even lay claim to being the Christians party, and they get away with it. Shame on us good folk for allowing it.
9 - Dave Nalle
>>If this was a equal size African nation with no oil and where 10 cents per hour is considered a high paying job, do you really think Chavez would even be on the right wing's radar?<<
Venezuela is a nearby country, just around the corner from us, and we do business with them. In additon, they're very close with Cuba and they are both trying to cause trouble for other reasonable countries in central America. Ask the Columbians how much they like being next door to Venezuela. We've got a reason to be concerned, but certainly not unduly so. Given everything else that's going on I seriously doubt the administration is giving Venezuela more than token attention.
Dave
10 - adam
Dave:
Excellent post, man, excellent. You have one liberal fan.
Though I expect you to trash my affection at any moment like the good radical conservative -- or is it conservative radical? -- you are.
11 - hamid
could be of interest to you, thanks hamid
12 - Warmongering Lunatic
And of course we are refusing to turn over a known terrorist who was responsible for the blowing up of a civilian airliner
Let's correct that to conform to the facts. It should read:
"And of course we did not expedite an extradition hearing for an alleged terrorist who was acquitted of responsibility for blowing up a civilian airliner by a Venezuelan court twenty years ago, but instead continued with the normal immigration court proceedures on the charges he's facing in the U.S. which might result in his deportation to Venezuela anyway."
Admittedly, we haven't bent over backwards to fulfill the request of a hostile-to-the-U.S. government which desires to subject a political enemy of that government's closest ally to what under U.S. legal norms would be double jeopardy. We have instead treated it as a normal criminal proceeding, to follow in series after his current charges are resolved. Oh, what vicious sinners and hypocrites we are!
13 - Rich
>>Let's get something straight the US will do business with the devil himself if he has oil. It'is when they don't want to do business with us is when we start publically villifying them.<<
>>You do understand that our government doesn't generally buy foreign oil? Oil is bought by international oil distribution companies most of which have some US and some international interests controlling them. They aren't part of the government. They buy the oil and once they do, no one who produces it has any control over where it is sold. So if Chavez wants to withhold oil from the US, best of luck to him - all he'll do is shot down his own economy.
The oil companies have influence on on the US. People in these oil companies now sit in high levels of our government and have sat on the board of these oil companies.
Thats why our current energy bill that was passed gave the oil companies more tax breaks, they didn't need. These tax breaks didnt help us, gas prices are still going up while they have record profits.
Our US policies and oil companies have a very close relationship, to think otherwise would be a mistake.
I will spare you the names, you know who they are.
14 - Steve S
I don't have any personal opinion of Chavez, I don't really follow along in Venezuelan politics, but I don't think we should be advocating the assassination of anybody good or bad, because 'good or bad' is subjective.
Is a Christian evangelical leader calling for the assassination of somebody who's 'not so nice' less sinful?
15 - Rich
>>But at least we can get cheap AK-47s at the gun show.
Really how much?
They don't sell them at Walmart yet?
16 - Dave Nalle
>>Excellent post, man, excellent. You have one liberal fan.
Though I expect you to trash my affection at any moment like the good radical conservative -- or is it conservative radical? -- you are.<<
I prefer Rational Moderate. I oppose all forms of extremism.
Dave
17 - Dave Nalle
>>The oil companies have influence on on the US. People in these oil companies now sit in high levels of our government and have sat on the board of these oil companies. <<
As has been the case in virtually every previous administration. This isn't exactly a radical policy departure.
>>Thats why our current energy bill that was passed gave the oil companies more tax breaks, they didn't need. These tax breaks didnt help us, gas prices are still going up while they have record profits. <<
Which was a payoff to get them to not lobby against the record-setting grant money for alternative fuel research and hefty incentives for solarizing houses and purchasing hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles.
Dave
18 - D.C.
Hugo Puko.
19 - Dave Nalle
Well, that was a brilliant contribution. Makes me speculate on what D. C. stands for.
Dave
20 - Faust Figueroa
Please spare us the Righteous Right's Rhetoric! We are all tired of the lying and prevarication. Who is to be believed? Bush? Even Saddam proved to be more trustworthy with regards to Iraq's military capabilities. I would in an instance believe the word of a patriotic son to that of the neighborhood bully!
21 - Dave Nalle
Not quite following you, Faust. You're saying that Chavez is the neighborhood bully? Colombia would certainly agree.
Dave
22 - todd
I don't think a nation with as much govt control/collusion with business as the US should be bitching about another nation's socialist tendencies.
23 - Rich
Let's do a poll and see who has more credibility in the US much less the international community, Chavez, or Bush?
24 - Dave Nalle
That would be an interesting poll - and it would tell us just how much attention we should pay to the international community.
Dave
25 - Rich
Yes Dave, we do not live in a vacume.