Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez died this week at 58 after a long battle with cancer. I listened last night to the BBC interviewing people in Argentina and you would have thought he was a hero for standing up for the downtrodden against the world's one remaining superpower. Many remember his personal attack at the United Nations on President George W. Bush, calling him "the devil." Such belligerent talk is not worthy of what the UN should be all about. Add his cozy relationships with some of the world's most repressive dictatorships like Cuba, Iran and Syria along with his efforts to quash internal dissent and Americans may well wonder why anybody would give this crackpot any credibility. There are many across the globe including some left leaning Americans who actually liked Chavez just because of their intense dislike of the Bush-Cheney administration. I'm not the only one who did a double take when Joe Kennedy, Jr. appeared in commercials thanking "Citgo, the people of Venezuela and President Hugo Chavez" for heating oil assistance to America's needy. Kennedy may have a point on how Chavez tried to spread the wealth around while the gap between the haves and have nots grows wider than ever, but the Chavez hero worship is sadly misplaced. It does show the impact of flawed U.S. foreign policy exemplified by the Iraq invasion and occupation. Many were so put off by perceived U.S. arrogance abroad that they were willing to look the other way as Chavez did anything he could to antagonize us and our de facto ally Colombia. The U.S. has new challenges in this post Cold War world. Authoritarian regimes count on making the United States into Satan. Yes, there are times for strong military action, but first we have to do whatever we can to prevent them from making their case to those on the fence.
No comments:
Post a Comment