While Pelosi Dithers, Chavez Undermines Colombia

Leader and Master Pelosi

Call is a pelosis of political cowardice, ignorance, or cynical doctrinaire pandering; holding up the Colombian Free Trade Bill is playing with fire, and Hugo Chavez is there to fan the flames.

The U.S. Trade Representative's office late on Thursday released a letter to Pelosi from the ambassadors of Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras urging approval of the free trade pact with Colombia. The leaders in these countries as well as Colombia have spent considerable political capital supporting an alternative to the Chavez model. That alternative requires more US involvement and economic integration with Latin America. That is in US interests. We need to avoid a Lebanon developing in the Americas. :

Hizbollah seizes Muslim west Beirut
By Roula Khalaf, Middle East Editor Financial Times

It took Lebanon’s Hizbollah group just a few hours on Friday to seize control of Muslim west Beirut and bring the country’s western-backed government to its knees.

Timeline

• Feb 2005 Popular ‘Cedar revolution’ follows assassination of former PM Rafiq Hariri. Syrian complicity suspected

• April 2005 Syrian troops end 29-year presence in Lebanon

• July 2006 War between Israel and Hizbollah sparked by the capture of two Israeli soldiers

• Dec 2006 Power struggle deepens between Hizbollah and pro-west government after Hizbollah and Shia opposition party Amal ministers resign

• Nov 2007 Lebanon is left without a president after Emile Lahoud steps down and the divided parliament repeatedly fails to agree on a successor

• May 2008 Hizbollah seizes control of several Beirut neighbourhoods and shuts down a pro-government newspaper and television station. Sunni leader Saeed Hariri calls on Hizbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah to end the ‘siege’ of Beirut

Amid scenes reminiscent of the 1975-90 civil war, the country’s most heavily armed and disciplined force deployed its gunmen around al-Mustaqbal newspaper – owned by Saad Hariri, the leading Sunni in the pro-western governing coalition – at about 7am, setting the fourth floor of the building ablaze.

The Lebanese national army, no match for the Shia militant group and eager to stay out of the domestic battle, quickly arrived. But instead of confronting the gunmen, it turned into the negotiator, asking staff to evacuate and thus avert a storming of the building.

Could this happen in Colombia? Read on...

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Chavez agreed to arm rebels, files indicate
By Sara A. Carter and Carmen Gentile
Washington Times
May 10, 2008

Documents from a captured laptop show Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez agreed to help arm the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.
U.S. intelligence officials said yesterday that members of the Venezuelan government have tried to "facilitate the shipment of arms" to Colombian rebels.

The charge follows a published report that documents from a captured laptop computer show Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez agreed to help arm the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The documents appear to be authentic, U.S. intelligence officials said.

"One of the chief concerns is that the documents reveal closer links between Chavez and the FARC than had been previously been known," a U.S. intelligence official said yesterday, speaking on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the information. "It's clear that certain Venezuelan officials have tried to facilitate the shipment of arms to the FARC," the official said.

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"The Colombian government has become the Israel of Latin America," - Chavez

Here is a metaphor to choke on. It is time to quit.

Chavez simply has to go. If Saddam was a threat to the region in the Middle East, Chavez clearly is problematic for Latin America. The Chavez metaphor about Columbia and Israel in the right church but the the wrong pew. The comparison should be with Chavez and Latin America.

We do not need a Latin Hamas in the Americas. Chavez is past the stage of being a clown or an irritant. He is dangerously close to crossing a line that should be called a trip wire. An aircraft carrier visit should be the order of the day and Chavez should be forced to stand down from his escalation against Colombia.

Russia and China should be given a stern warning that the games are over in latin America and enough is enough.

At the very first opportunity and with the thinnest of reason or cover, Chavez should be given the immortality he richly longs for.

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South America on brink of war
By Martin Arostegui Washington Times
March 3, 2008

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said Colombia's military violated its airspace to retrieve the body of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia's second in command, Raul Reyes.
SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia — South America was on the brink of war yesterday as Venezuela and Ecuador amassed troops on the Colombian border in response to the killing of a Marxist rebel leader.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez threatened to join the rebels in a war to overthrow hard-line Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, a key ally of the United States, deploying tanks, fighter jets and thousands of troops along the Colombian border.

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa also ordered troops to the border, expelled Colombia's ambassador and recalled its ambassador to Bogota, but left its embassy open. Venezuela closed its embassy in Colombia and ordered all diplomats home.

A weekend battle sparked the mobilization, in which Colombian forces killed a top leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), in a camp in Ecuador.

"The obsessive conduct of those who prize the military option sharpens the armed conflict with grave possible consequences" read a statement from Venezuela's Foreign Ministry after the weekend killing of FARC's second in command, Raul Reyes.

On his weekly Sunday talk show "Hello President," Mr. Chavez accused Colombia of "invading" Ecuador, and compared the action to Israeli attacks against Palestinians.

"The Colombian government has become the Israel of Latin America," Mr. Chavez said. He called Colombia a "terrorist" state and its president, Mr. Uribe, a criminal; "Dracula's fangs are covered in blood

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Chavez Moves Tanks Towards Colombia

Chavez with an AK-47, of course

Chavez sends tanks to Colombia border in dispute (hat tip: Trish)
Sun Mar 2, 2008

By Saul Hudson

CARACAS (Reuters) -

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez moved tanks to the Colombian border and mobilized fighter jets on Sunday, warning Bogota could spark a war after its troops struck inside another of its neighbors, Ecuador.

Reacting to Colombia's killing on Saturday of a Colombian rebel over the border in Ecuador, a Venezuelan ally, Chavez also withdrew all of his diplomats from Bogota in the worst dispute between the neighbors since he came to office in 1999.

"Mr. Defense Minister, move me 10 battalions to the frontier with Colombia immediately, tank battalions. The air force should mobilize," Chavez said, adding he will bolster his military's presence along the 1,400-mile (2,200-km) border.

"May God spare us a war. But we are not going to allow them violate our sovereign territory," the ex-paratrooper added on his weekly TV show.

Colombia's military said on Saturday troops killed Raul Reyes, a leader of Marxist FARC rebels, during an attack on a jungle camp in Ecuador in a severe blow to Latin America's oldest guerrilla insurgency. The operation included air strikes and fighting with rebels across the frontier.

The anti-U.S. Chavez, who had warned a similar operation in Venezuela would be "cause for war," threatened to send Russian-made fighter jets into U.S. ally Colombia if its troops struck inside his OPEC country.

Colombia had no immediate reaction to Venezuela's military movements. Prior to Chavez's statement, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe denied violating Ecuador's sovereignty, saying the operation was in response to fire from across the border.

But the leftist governments of Venezuela and Ecuador questioned the accuracy of his account. Ecuador withdrew its ambassador in protest.

"Colombia has not violated any sovereignty, only acted in accordance with the principal of legitimate defense," the government said in a statement.

Washington, which backs Uribe's fight against the rebels with its largest military aid outside the Middle East, said it was monitoring developments after Chavez's "odd reaction."

France called for restraint on all sides, saying it underlined the need for the negotiated release of FARC hostages, including the most high-profile captive, French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt.

The FARC said in a statement the killing of one its leaders who had been involved in hostage talks should not affect moves to free captives, according to the Venezuelan government.

CIVIL WAR SPILLOVER

Uribe, who is popular at home for his tough stance against the rebels, has often jousted with neighbors over spillover from the four-decade conflict. But he has managed differences with pragmatism and disputes have rarely moved past rhetoric.

Uribe says rebels take refuge in frontier areas and neighbors urge him to stop violence seeping over borders.

Chavez has been in a diplomatic dispute with Uribe for months over his mediation to free the rebels' hostages. Uribe says Chavez used the talks to meddle in Colombian affairs.

The Venezuelan called the rebel leader's death the "cowardly assassination" of a "good revolutionary."

"I am putting Venezuela on alert and we will support Ecuador in any situation," he said.

Uribe is "a liar, a Mafia boss, a paramilitary who leads a narco-government and leads a government that is a lackey of the United States," Chavez added.

Michael Shifter of the Inter-American Dialogue thinktank in Washington and a critic of Chavez, said the Venezuelan was playing with fire even if the spat could distract from his domestic problems such as chronic shortages of some foods.

"It maybe is a measure of how concerned he is about his own domestic support," he said. "I don't know how far he is going to go with this, but it is a risky political action."

(Additional reporting by Patricia Rondon in Caracas, Patrick Markey in Bogota, Jean-Baptiste Vey in Paris and David Alexander in Crawford; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

The Monroe Doctrine. Is it a dead letter as Chavez adjusts the balance in America?

The US Navy enters all international waters to assert and reassert the US right of free passage. It is necessary. It should also be so when it comes to policies, doctrine and laws. Laws and doctrines ignored, soon pass from the scene. They cease to be meaningful or relevant.

The Monroe Doctrine states three major ideas. It conveys that European countries cannot colonize in any of the Americas. It enforces Washington's rule of foreign policy, in which the U.S. will only be involved in European affairs if America's rights are disturbed. It also states the U.S. will consider any attempt at colonization a threat to its national security.

This week ITT was fined $100 million for transferring night vision technology to China. That follows a lengthy list of illegal security transfers to China. China is rapidly expanding her military infrastructure using much stolen US technology.

China has recently established a one trillion dollar fund to recycle excess dollars which she holds as a result of US trade surpluses. That money will be used to purchase hard assets such as oil, timber and ore reserves.

China has expanding interests in Latin America, especially Venezuela, which coincidentally has the regime in Latin America most hostile to US interests.

The US can always make a political decision to disengage from the Middle East. The US cannot disengage Venezuela from the Americas, nor can the US disengage from the social problems created in this hemisphere.

Is it the intention and policy of The United States of America to abandon the Monroe Doctrine? It seems to be.

CARACAS, March 27 (Xinhua) -- China and Venezuela have expressed their wish to deepen their strategic association and cooperation during the three-day visit of a senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

During his visit, Li Changchun, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, fulfilled a tight working schedule, speaking to senior Venezuelan officials to exchange ideas on the development of bilateral relations.

On Monday night, Li met Hugo Chavez, the president of Venezuela, in the Miraflores presidential palace. There he said that since the establishment of the China-Venezuela strategic association, and especially in recent years, relations had entered a new phase characterized by frequent high-level visits, growing political trust and collaboration.

He added that China is certain that cooperation to the benefit of both nations is in the fundamental interest of both nations, and that China seeks to increase strategic consensus with Venezuela.

He also said that the CPC regards exchanges with the Fifth Republic Movement party, founded by Chavez, as very important and called for every closer cooperation between the two.

Chavez said that bilateral relations held many opportunities and good prospects. He emphasized the Venezuelan government's hopes to explore more collaboration with China in other fields.

Li and Chavez attended a Monday night event, where economic and technological cooperation agreements were signed.

Li also met senior members of Venezuela's economic cabinet to review economic cooperation agreements.

He also placed a floral wreath at the grave of South American liberation hero Simon Bolivar at the National Cemetery, and visited the Caracas house where Bolivar was born.

On Tuesday, Li met Cilia Flores, the president of Venezuela's legislature, the National Assembly. He also visited the Caracas offices of CNPC America Ltd, a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corp.

This is the first high-level official visit by a Chinese official since Zeng Qinghong, China's vice-president, visited Venezuela in January 2005.

China-Venezuela trade was 4.338 billion U.S. dollars in 2006, a record level and up 102.5 percent from a year earlier, according to Chinese official statistics. China and Venezuela established diplomatic relations in June 1974.