9-21-05, 10:03 am
In his whirlwind visit to the U.S. this past week, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez expressed his love for the American people, offered his 'deepest condolences,' and reiterated his government's offers of assistance for the victims of the Katrina disaster.
Echoing the sentiments of the vast majority of Americans, Chávez denounced the Bush administration's failure to respond resolutely to the hurricane disaster, costing the lives of thousands.
Chávez told ABC Nightline's Ted Koppel that his government is already helping several thousand disaster victims.
'Practically no one in the United States knows that we've donated millions of dollars to the governorship of Louisiana, to the New Orleans Red Cross,' Chávez pointed out.
'We're now giving care to more than 5,000 victims, and now we're going to supply gasoline, freely in some cases, and with discounts in other cases, to the poorest of communities, starting with New Orleans and its surroundings.'
To an overflowing crowd at a Manhattan church over the weekend, Chávez promised to use his country's resources, especially the government-owned Citgo Petroleum Corp., which operates some 14,000 franchises throughout the U.S., to bring aid directly to working class communities affected by the disaster and elsewhere.
Chávez's remarks came just as President Bush announced his intention to provide massive direct 'relief' to large corporations that donated to his campaign (like Halliburton and Bechtel) and went unaffected by the hurricane.
Bush also promised to fight for more tax cuts for the very rich, has cut prevailing wage protections for workers engaged in Gulf Coast reconstruction, has exempted contractors from the federal government's affirmative action policies, and has directed millions of dollars to private religious groups profiting as 'middlemen' between eager donors to the disaster relief and the recipients of charity.
While the Bush administration has labeled President Chávez a 'threat,' the Venezuelan leader, in a separate interview with Democracy Now, urged Americans to consider carefully who is the real threat.
Chávez pointed out that oil lies at the heart of the real reasons for Bush's war on Iraq, and that it is the main reason the administration wants to control Venezuela.
Chávez added that his government has no intention of withholding oil from the U.S. unless the Bush administration attacks his country.
To Koppel, Chávez expanded on this point. Prior to Bush, Venezuela had an amicable relationship with the U.S. The two governments could talk to one another without raising aggressive rhetoric. Chávez said that he has friendly relationships with many governments throughout the world and would like to repair the relationship with the U.S., but the Bush administration with its shrill rhetoric and unfounded accusations has prevented that from happening.
In fact, Venezuela may be the target of invasion plans. Plans for invasion known as 'Operation Balboa' were recently obtained by the Venezuelan security services. While some observers find the claim hard to believe, just three years after a U.S.-supported coup against Chávez and two years after the Bush administration's launch of what was once believed to be an unlikely war against Iraq, it is impossible not to believe that the Pentagon has formulated some operational plans for attacking Venezuela.
To be sure, plans for an Iraq invasion were made well in advance of President Bush's campaign to convince Congress and the public to support his war on Iraq, begun in earnest in September 2002 with hysterical proclamations about 'mushroom clouds' over American cities.
According to the Downing Street Memo, the transcript of a high-level July 2002 British government meeting, and related documents, British diplomats and advisers to the Blair government believed that as early a March 2002 the Bush administration intended to start a war with Iraq and was in the planning stage of a cynical public relations campaign with the American public to achieve that goal.
According to the Downing Street Memo itself, members of the British government, through various diplomatic channels, had come to believe that the Bush administration planned to 'fix' intelligence to support its war aims.
Rumors in the public prior to September 2002 that the administration planned a war with Iraq were seen as unlikely and incredible. Since the war began 1,900 U.S. soldiers and as many as 100,000 Iraqis have been killed, and the rationale for war – WMD, Iraq's imminent threat, and Al-Qaeda connections – has proven to be a fabrication.
During his visit, Chávez also urged reforming the UN to prevent manipulation and domination by any single nation and to give smaller countries greater influence over the process.
Addressing the issue of terrorism, Chávez stated, 'It is urgent to fight, in an efficient manner, international terrorism. Nonetheless, we must not use it as an excuse to launch unjustified military aggressions which violate international law.'
Chávez decried the 'pre-emptive war' doctrine of the Bush administration as an inherent violation of international law and a potential cynical justification for any form of military aggression the Bush administration might decide to impose on the world.
Overall, Chávez called for greater cooperation, respect for sovereignty, elimination of failed economic models such as the anarchy and favoritism of the 'free' market, and a deeper respect for humanity and the environment.
--Joel Wendland is managing editor of Political Affairs and can be reached at jwendland@politicalaffairs.net.
