The Thomas Chronicles

Chavez Strikes Again!

Addressing Venezuelan soldiers at Tiuna Fort, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says that their military must prepare for a guerrilla war with the United States.

President Hugo Chavez urged soldiers on Sunday to prepare for a guerrilla-style war against the United States, saying that Washington is using psychological and economic warfare as part of an unconventional campaign aimed at derailing his government.

Dressed in olive green fatigues and a red beret, Chavez spoke inside Tiuna Fort—Venezuela’s military nerve-center—before hundreds of uniformed soldiers standing alongside armored vehicles and tanks decorated with banners reading: “Fatherland, Socialism, or Death! We will triumph!”

“We must continue developing the resistance war, that’s the anti- imperialist weapon. We must think and prepare for the resistance war everyday,” said Chavez, who has repeatedly warned that American soldiers could invade Venezuela to seize control of the South American nation’s immense oil reserves.

U.S. officials reject claims that Washington is considering a military attack. But the U.S. government has expressed concern over what it perceives as a significant arms build-up here.

Just a few months ago, he accused our government of trying to assassinate him, and last year, he called President Bush the Devil himself. Is Chavez paranoid, or is he stating his direct intention to attack the United States through asymmetric warfare?

One of our primary concerns in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 was the turmoil down in Latin America. If the communist FARC merged with the drug cartels and had state-sanctioned support, we could be in for a very bumpy ride. Unlike our current Islamofascist enemies whose tribal mores and religious zealotry we can spot a mile away, Latin American terrorists can really hurt us.

The drug cartels and FARC have support structures and safe houses all across the United States in every city through the drug trade. We haven’t yet shut down our borders six years after 9/11, and terrorist operatives from Latin America can easily hide within our unregulated illegal immigrant population. Well, the merger between FARC and the drug cartels have already largely happened since 9/11 and there are links that tie Hugo Chavez to them as their ringleader. (See here and here.)

It seems like our solution so far to this very real threat is to stuff our heads in the sand and hope it all goes away because, you know, it’s really inconvenient.

We really have got to close our borders. And our Senate ain’t helping matters much.

The Russia Factor

What’s even more ominous is the omnipresence of Russia. Where there’s an enemy of the United States, there’s Russia selling them arms.

Under Chavez, Venezuela has recently purchased some $3 billion worth of arms from Russia, including 53 military helicopters, 100,000 Kalashnikov rifles, 24 SU-30 Sukhoi fighter jets.

Last week, Chavez said he is considering arms purchases, including submarines and a missile-equipped air defense system, as he prepares for a tour of Russia, Belarus and Iran.

“We are strengthening Venezuela’s military power precisely to avoid imperial aggressions and assure peace, not to attack anybody,” he said Sunday.

This report comes hot off the heels of Russia selling Syria highly advanced MiG-31 fighter jets, which many consider one of the best in the world.

Russia has “advisors” in Southern Lebanon during and after Hezbollah’s war with Israel in the summer of 2006. Russia had “advisors” in the Gaza Strip shortly before Hamas seized control from Fatah. Russia sells advanced nuclear weapons technology to China, (They’ve agree to sell China their new Topol-M missiles as well as other high-tech weaponry. They say that their new Topol-M missiles are capable of defeating any missile shield.) under the guise of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Russia is also the nation building the nuclear reactors for Iran.

The list goes on and on. Given Putin’s declaration to resume the Cold War with the United States, one has to wonder about Russia’s intention.

Their recent, unprecedented cyber-attack on Estonia, which virtually shut down their entire country, doesn’t indicate Russian good will toward those they disagree with either.

Tentative Summation

We’re in deep kim-chi, and we’re talking about Paris Hilton.

Have a good day.

Hugo Chavez’s contradictions and his cathedral-sized ego was just palpable from this article.

Standing only one paragraph apart, he said:

He calls himself “an enemy of an empire who wants to dominate the world” but a “friend of equality and freedom.”

The very next paragraph said that he would “would support Iran against any attack from the United States.” And we all know just how Iran prizes equality and freedom, right?

How exactly would Chavez support Iran should we come to blows with them?

The most obvious thing that I can think of, the only true leverage he has on us, is oil. Chavez could turn off his oil spigot flowing to our shores at any time. But does he mean anything further than this? …

The direct contradiction of saying that he supports Israel and Iran in the same breath just befuddles the imagination. No one can support both Israel and Iran since one’s stated purpose is to “wipe” the other off the face of the map. There shouldn’t even be a hint of moral equivalence in this situation.

I have the sense that this interview was nothing more than a PR job by Chavez. He plays to American liberalism, hitting the high notes of shadowy X-File-esque conspiracies about the CIA (I mean really, if we wanted him dead he’d be six feet under right now.) and saying that he’s really for the American little guy.

Venezuela is supporting tens of thousands of poor families in the United States with heating oil,” and that his country sends “1.5 million barrels of oil” to the United States every day.

Heck, he even boasts that if were allowed to run for president in the U.S., “he would have no trouble winning and that he could win over any right wing candidate within six months.”

Yeah… right.

So, where was Barbara Walters in all this propaganda? I don’t know, but doesn’t an interviewer feed the subject questions?

It could be she was as startled at all his bold statements as I was…

Hat Tip: Bookworm

*** UPDATE BELOW ***

Our lovely dictator from Venezuela is at it again. This this time he’s threatening to nationalize supermarkets because, according to his odd logic, they’re hoarding food to artificially drive up prices. His accusations and direct actions have already caused the temporary closure of one supermarket chain “for pricing meat above allowed levels.”

In good socialist fashion, Chavez’s government has set a mandated price for meat and other foods. Of course, this creates a situation where business-owners are forced to sell food at a loss, which if continued will result in their bankruptcy.

It would be disingenuous to suggest that Chavez and his government are ignorant of the consequences of their policies. They’ve placed the grocery businesses in a double-bind gambit where they are essentially damned if they do and damned if they don’t. If they proceed and follow Chavez’s edicts to the letter, they would be bankrupt through their inability to compete with marketplace forces. But if they disobey and raise the price of foods, Chavez will shut them down.

According the BBC:

President Chavez told a gathering of pensioners in the capital, Caracas, that he was waiting for the “first excuse” to take over privately-owned outlets that manipulate prices.

“If they insist on violating the interests of the people, the constitution and laws, I will take away the warehouses, the shops, I will take away the supermarkets and I’ll nationalise them,” he warned.

In a word, Chavez is searching for a pretext to nationalize supermarkets, which is what he’s intending to do anyway. President Chavez, as well versed as he is in Machiavellian maneuvers, cannot be ignorant of the basic fact that the majority of people are loyal to their stomachs, their allegiances begin and end at the bottom of a rice bowl.

Or, as the old adage goes, “We’re only one meal away from a revolution.”

It’s simple.

You control the food. You control the people.

As dictator, you can make yourself both tyrant (withholding food) and saint (giving food). Both are good in coercing a desired behavior from the populace.

It would be a mistake to underestimate Chavez through an inability to take him seriously– he’s veritably cartoonish in his villainy. Strangely, our reaction to Chavez as being cartoonish is remarkably similar our grandfather’s reaction to the German chancellor in the 1930’s. Before the start of hostilities in Europe, Americans of that generation couldn’t take Hitler seriously because he was so, well, cartoonish.

Let us hope we aren’t underestimating our cartoon bully from Latin America on the basis of his transparent buffoonery. We just might receive a rude awakening.

On Further Reflection 2/16/07:

It is surprising how dismissive the American people have been to Hugo Chavez. In light of all the threats arrayed against us— not least are the threats of Islamofascism, illegal aliens, Iran, North Korea, China, Russia, FARC and Latin American drug cartels— you would think we’d be taking Chavez much more seriously as a people.

The foremost reason for taking Chavez more seriously is not because all the oil he exports, but because he is forming alliances with all our enemies. Unlike the Islamofascists, who more often than not stick out like a carrot top in a sea of brunettes, Venezuela already has our country penetrated, though probably not through any previous effort on his own.

Latin America’s illegal aliens and our drug smugglers have already carved pathways into the United States that remain largely undetected. Sanctuary cities like New York, Los Angeles, Houston, and others have well-worn networks and sympathetic local populations which can provide logistical support and safe houses for illegal activities. If you doubt how thoroughly we are penetrated by Latin American countries, the fact that 12 to 20 million illegal aliens are in the United States right now with more pouring in testifies to how porous and vulnerable we are as a country.

And if that isn’t convincing, ponder how easily one can buy cocaine or any other drug. Most of it comes from Latin American countries.

Hugo Chavez and his allies around the world could bring America to her knees if they can effectively exploit this gaping hole in our defenses. Chavez and our Latin America enemies can harm us much more effectively than the Islamofascists ever can.

Update 2/16/07 11:15 p.m.

Thanks for the link and trackback Hugo Chavez Watch!

Related Posts:

The Largest Minority: President Chavez Threatens to Seize High Priced Supermarkets
The Astute Blogger: CHAVEZ: “ALL YOUR SUPERMARKETS ARE BELONG TO US!”
Freedom Folks: Venezuela: Oh Yeah, This Is Going To End Well!
Hugo Chavez Watch: What’s the price of a gallon of milk? Ask Hugo!!
Say Anything: The Wonderful World of Socialism
Hot Air: Venezuela set to let Chavez rule by decree for 18 months