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May 02, 2006
The NeoCons Look Toward Latin America
Well, here's just a taste of the new rhetoric we will no doubt being hearing more as Latin America moves to the left-- from the lovely Frank Gaffney:
Funding and organizational support from Venezuela is making the electoral playing-field uneven across the region, giving a formidable advantage to populist revolutionaries over their democratic opponents. Once in office, the latter can rely not only on money from Chavez and his Islamofascist (for example, Iranian) and Chinese friends. They can also elicit muscle from Castro's foreign legion (Communist Cuban special forces, police, praetorian guards, doctors and teachers) to help consolidate control and eliminate their opponents.Got to love the key buzz words-- "Islamofascist", "Chinese", "Communist" -- all in a stew of fear and loathing against leaders who are revolting against the corporate exploitation and decades of authoritarians backed by the United States. It's a bit of a joke for the US to complain about outside funding by Chavez making any electoral playing field uneven, since US manipulation and funding has been the hallmark of elections throughout Latin America for decades.
But just a heads up. Many on the Left may be expecting Bush to use a crisis with Iran as election fodder for the fall midterms, but don't count out a nice escalation against Venezuela -- another oil producer closer to home -- as a political gambit
Posted by Nathan at May 2, 2006 08:45 AM