Chavez and me

I know a lot of good folks don't like Hugo Chavez and really don't like Fidel Castro. I like Chavez and am sympathetic to Castro. Not entirely because they're such good men, but because I admire their courage and determination in not succumbing to the massive and intense pressure the USA has applied to destroy populist movements in Latin America. Through the twentieth century the story of repression, murder, rape and torture by death squads and para-militaries financed and directed by the CIA, the State Department, and the Pentagon are so commonplace that the people of the US have lost their ability to be enraged, shocked, or even embarrassed .

The tide is turning. Bush has no vision or principles that enable him to determine a policy for maintaining positive relationships with the rest of the world. The dissolution of the Soviet Union, supposed to have represented the victory of Western democracy and free enterprise system, has given way to a resurgent totalitarianism motivated by concern over the US's military incursions into Eastern Europe, and facilitated by Putin's posing as an ally in "the war on terror" while he reversed democratic reforms in Russia.

Our leadership of the liberal democracies wasn't lost, it was discarded.
When the democratic governments of Europe questioned our unjustified invasion of Iraq, Rumsfeld labeled them as the "old Europe" and applauded the willingness of the "new Europe" who could be bribed into supporting the war effort with a token commitment of forces. Who needs France and Germany when you have Poland and Roumania?

In Asia as well things have come unglued, with Japan moving toward re-militarizing as the US is perceived as unwilling and perhaps unable to contend with the growing power of China. The trade deficit while enriching a segment of the US economy has given the Chines immense economic leverage (ie the ability to wreak havoc on the US economy) while causing an immense transfer of technology to our most vociferous enemy.

I can't even bring myself to begin to describe the mess we've made of the Middle East with our slavish devotion to the most militaristic / expansionist elements of the Israeli state apparatus.

So why should I express concern over Latin America? Read the attached article for an description of how badly the last four administrations , over a period of twenty-five years, have betrayed US principles and ideals, and then ask "to whose benefit?"