Adam's Apple
Senior Member
- Apr 25, 2004
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Snatching Defeat?
By Frank Gaffney, Center for Security Policy
October 16, 2006
America's preoccupation with the crises du jour - the rising terrorist menace to the liberation of Iraq, the Iranian regime's determination to acquire the means to act on its genocidal threats against Israel and the United States and, most recently, North Korea's nuclear coming-out party - has left Washington ill-prepared to deal with one of tomorrow's major security challenges: the rise of the radical anti-American left in Latin America.
The emergence of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez as the oil-rich heir to Fidel Castro's revolutionary ambitions has translated into a mortal threat to liberal democracy, freedom and economic opportunity in much of the hemisphere. With Chavez's money and Castro's coaching, the two have adapted the longstanding Cuban revolutionary program of violent overthrow of elected governments to meet present circumstances. Today, virulent leftists are seeking, and frequently succeeding at, obtaining power through the ballot box - then using it to destroy their government's constitutional processes and any checks on that power.
The United States government has paid scant attention as Bolivia and Argentina have moved squarely into the Chavez-Castro orbit. A similar disastrous outcome was narrowly averted in Peru but may well be in the offing at this writing in Ecuador.
for full article:
http://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/index.jsp?section=papers&code=06-D_53
By Frank Gaffney, Center for Security Policy
October 16, 2006
America's preoccupation with the crises du jour - the rising terrorist menace to the liberation of Iraq, the Iranian regime's determination to acquire the means to act on its genocidal threats against Israel and the United States and, most recently, North Korea's nuclear coming-out party - has left Washington ill-prepared to deal with one of tomorrow's major security challenges: the rise of the radical anti-American left in Latin America.
The emergence of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez as the oil-rich heir to Fidel Castro's revolutionary ambitions has translated into a mortal threat to liberal democracy, freedom and economic opportunity in much of the hemisphere. With Chavez's money and Castro's coaching, the two have adapted the longstanding Cuban revolutionary program of violent overthrow of elected governments to meet present circumstances. Today, virulent leftists are seeking, and frequently succeeding at, obtaining power through the ballot box - then using it to destroy their government's constitutional processes and any checks on that power.
The United States government has paid scant attention as Bolivia and Argentina have moved squarely into the Chavez-Castro orbit. A similar disastrous outcome was narrowly averted in Peru but may well be in the offing at this writing in Ecuador.
for full article:
http://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/index.jsp?section=papers&code=06-D_53
