Chavez's Personal Militia May Have a Dual Mission
Excerpt from Chris Kraul's article in the LA Times on Venezuela's militia:
"The militia was created last fall by a law that placed it directly under Chavez's authority, bypassing the military command structure. The new force, combined with a general military buildup that has included purchases of arms, aircraft and naval vessels, is a source of increasing concern to the United States.
Chavez, whose oil revenues could exceed $50 billion this year, is trying to extend his influence in Latin America by giving away medical services and cut-rate fuel to neighbors. The United States is worried that given the fiery leftist's increasingly harsh anti-U.S. rhetoric, his outreach could take on a less benign character."
posted by Administrator
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"Chavez, whose oil revenues could exceed $50 billion this year, is trying to extend his influence in Latin America by giving away medical services and cut-rate fuel to neighbors."
The statement above is illustrative of the profoundly ideological nature of U.S. reporting. When a U.S. administration provides humanitarian aid to any other part of the world, no reporter ever describes this as a sinister ploy on the part of the government to "extend" U.S. influence. I doubt, for example, that anyone ever saw a U.S. reporter write: "Truman is trying to extend his influence in Western Europe by rebuilding the region's infrastructure through the Marshall Plan."
Oh, but if Hugo provides aid to other countries in the hemisphere, this is no more than a sinister plot to "extend" his influence, according to U.S. reporters.
The double standards of American journalism are quite mind-boggling.
April 19, 2006 3:34 PM
Baloney, Chavez is trying to buy support and there is no comparison in the U.S. The U.S. isn't sending below market fuel to specific cities in Nicaragua run by left-wing mayors.
May 04, 2006 7:23 PM
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