Washington focuses on southern "axis of evil" (Venezuela and Cuba)

there's definitely something big brewing with the RW and Latin America...

http://www.ipsnews.net/new_nota.asp?idnews=28011

WASHINGTON, Mar 24 (IPS) - While U.S. President George W. Bush played nice to a deeply frustrated Mexican President Vicente Fox at the North American Summit in Texas Wednesday, U.S. media attention was focused more on Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld's efforts to sound the alarm against Latin American troublemakers in his swing through the region this week.

Topping his list was populist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, followed by a nemesis from bygone days, former Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, who was accused by an unnamed ”senior official” in Rumsfeld's delegation of hoarding several hundred Russian-made surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) that Washington wants to see destroyed.

Indeed, at the start of Rumsfeld's trip, Washington announced the suspension of all U.S. military assistance to Nicaragua -- about 2.3 million dollars' worth -- pending the destruction of the missiles that Washington contend might be obtained by terrorists.

At the same time, the right-wing National Review published a cover story by Bush's top Latin America aide during his first term, Otto Reich, on ”Latin America's Terrible Two”, referring to Chavez and Cuban President Fidel Castro. The magazine's cover, with a photo of the two men in close conversation, featured a banner reading ”The Axis of Evil ...Western Hemisphere Version.”

More…

wherever he goes.

I've been wondering where Reich is, we haven't heard
from him in the last week or so.

The time to start worrying about Latin America is when
it's finally clear the US is leaving Iraq.

Edit: especially worry about small Carribean islands that have
pissed some big-shot in the Pentagon off ...

:nuke:

appropriately-named Otto Reich. "Subversive elements" - what is this, 1952? "Regional stability is threatened" - yeah, by you. And then there's Rumsfeld's "I can't imagine what Venuzuela needs with 100,000 AK-47s." Oh yeah? Listening to you I can imagine why they'd want them.

remind me, what does venezuela and cuba have in common? one has oil <<that our government has shown it's ready to kill for>> and the other... well the other has umm... well, it was a... fidel! yes, fidel is there, and the republicans need the cuban vote in south florida to keep jeb employed. Therefore we just lump them together into an 'axis of evil' so can spread our hate equally. ah self-righteousness never felt so good or gotten us so many new puppet-states.

probably runs evil schools and evil terrorism
networks all over the world in his spare time,
gets around real good for an old guy.
(And we just hate being made to look stupid and feckless
by those we consider our inferiors, so we just HATE Fidel.)
:puke:

if it were allowed on the market.

HAVANA (AP) - Two Republican lawmakers promised Thursday to try to ease U.S. restrictions against Cuba, saying tourism and trade can do more to undermine Fidel Castro's hold on the country than current U.S. policy.

Rep. Jeff Flake of Arizona said he will attempt to get Congress to eliminate funding for enforcement of the U.S. travel ban against Cuba, allowing more Americans to travel to the communist island.

``I don't think that the for the next four years we can maintain this policy,'' Flake told a group of international journalists.

(snip)

``We need to do what we did in Eastern Europe'' by putting more Americans in contact with Cubans, said Herger. ``Change will not come from the policies we've had in the past.''

Tourists get out and among the Cuban people, Flake said. ``They tip, they purchase, they have a corrosive effect on the regime.''

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1339966

There's dissent in the repub ranks

The Bushites desperately need an easy push-over at this point to restore their massively damaged warmaking credibility.

I'm guessing another invasion of Grenada. A hurricane totally levelled the island - maybe the Pentagon-embedded news media can make it look like precision airstrikes. Roll cameras.

Shock and awe! Fidel will surely surrender without a shot after he watches "Battle for the Spice Island" on CNN.

;-)

Caracas, Venezuela. Mar 24, 2004 (Venezuelanalysis.com).- Venezuelan Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel, released a statement yesterday, responding to comments made by U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld about Venezuela, during his recent visit to Brazil.

“The Lord of War, Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense of the United States made statements following the same line of repeating the usual impertinences about Venezuela,” said Rangel who also denounced the existance of a campaign seeking "to create enemies for Venezuela, among our friends."

On Wednesday, Secretary Rumsfeld expressed preoccupation about Venezuela’s announced purchase of 100,000 Russian rifles, saying that it could contribute to further destabilize Latin America."I can't imagine why Venezuela needs 100,000 AK-47's.," Rumsfeld said during a news conference in Brasília. "I just hope that, personally hope, that it doesn't happen… I can't imagine that if it did happen, that it would be good for the hemisphere," he added.

<snip>

Vice President Rangel responded by saying that the military equipment Venezuela is currently acquiring is of a defensive nature, and criticized the high U.S. military budget. “In Venezuela we are worried about the elevated military spending by the United States, which stands around 450 billion dollars … what are they fearing in order to justify such high military spending?,” he asked.The Vice President said that the preemptive war doctrine currently being implemented by the U.S. government, and its alleged desire to control the world’s resources, are behind the high U.S. military budget. “The whole world is worried,” he added.

http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=1558



"The role of the inhabitants of the American hemisphere has for centuries been purely passive. Politically they were non-existent. We are still in a position lower than slavery, and therefore it is more difficult for us to rise to the enjoyment of freedom. We were removed from the world in relation to the science of government and administration of the state. We were never viceroys or governors, save in the rarest of instances; seldom archbishops; diplomats never; as military men, only subordinates; as nobles without royal privileges. - Simón Bolívar, 1815


 

he knows his history...

The escalation of these attacks confirms the existence of a plan by the U.S. government against Venezuela. This plan was tested on April 11 of 2002, with the coup d'etat against President Hugo Chavez, and continued developing with the strike and oil sabotage starting December 2, 2002, with systematic statements by spokespersons of the Bush administration, with a media campaign such as those that the empire has unleashed through history whenever they want to consummate an aggression, or through the assassination attempts of that have been detected, and other series of efforts to destabilize.


Speaking of media campaigns, and speaking of the 2002 coup, this NYT about the coup is always worth being posted again...

New York Times salutes a "democratic" coup

The Wash. Post. That is where I was during the coup. The anti-Chavez vitriol and naked ass lies coming out of that rag was breathtaking. I was forcibly visiting some folks and stomped around the house helping educate the oncelers about a few realities that were missing from their paper of state.

out of Earth countries to label!!!