Chavez hardens tone in dispute with Colombia

catherine b says on Feb 3, 2008, 11:25:

And then there are those on this forum who wonder why many of us here discuss Chavez and dislike him so. I don't think there will be a war unless Chavez goes ahead and launches one of his new Russian missiles which he seems so eager to do.

Although what is more than evident is he's itching for a fight with somebody...anybody and his deteriorating mental health.

It's time for Venezuelans to do something about their Loco in Chief before he creates a disastrous situation.

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vladimiro says on Feb 3, 2008, 11:54:

Leaders that oppose US interests are frequently portrayed as crazy in the US-centric press, but tough talk is not crazy. That's just the normal muscle flexing that politicians do. Colombia could respond by shutting down the border between the countries for a couple weeks if it wanted to flex its muscles,too. Venezuela is *highly* dependant on the billions of imports from Colombia. China threatens to invade Taiwan regularly yet the country remains the model for developing countries to follow. In my opinion, its stepping over the line and actually invading and occupying another country like the American war criminals did that is crazy. The fact that truck loads of goods are crossing into venezuela from colombia indicates that relations have not deteriorated as much as the warmongers would like :)

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catherine b says on Feb 3, 2008, 12:03:

I have to disagree with you there Vlad. Whether you do something or threaten to do so is equally reprehensable.

I don't believe Colombia should shut down its border for the simple reason that Chavez keeps trying to escalate the situation. He has thousands of troops near the border already. If Colombia also places a significant number of troops near the border all it takes is one little "accidental" shot from either side to provoke something. It's not far fetched. There have been isolated incidents on the border for years. Just a few weeks ago Colombia was demanding an explanation from Venezuela that a Colombian child was shot and killed near the border by Venezuelan authorities.

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scotty says on Feb 3, 2008, 13:08:

cb ,you are right this twirp dictator Chavez is one heck of a paranoid, loud, pushy, chithead. his own people need to take him down before he does something really dangerous and stupid.
i think this guy Chavez is on a course of self distruction.

Get Rhythm, when you got the blues. Johnny Cash

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sloopskipper says on Feb 3, 2008, 16:57:

He does some dangerous and/or stupid daily. It seems the voters have already warned him.

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athensugadawg says on Feb 3, 2008, 18:13:

Seems that the lamp posts get a little lower and the ropes a little longer on a daily basis in Caracas...3% monthly inflation has got to hurt. If it's not "The Empire" it's Colombia...seems that he would be a little more creative and throw in Paraguay as well....

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SiV says on Feb 3, 2008, 19:17:

Today's leading article in Cali's newpaper El País was stating that despite being poorer relatively equipped, Colombia's army was seven times larger than Venezuela's. This muscle-flexing, "We can take 'em" attitude is getting scarey. . .

As for Chavez, while I don't like him, I don't think it's fair to call him a dictator (at least not yet). He was democratically elected and re-elected in a landslide victory approved by all the international observers, and accepted his defeat in the recent referendum.

As for being paranoid, as I've stated before, in the words of Kurt Cobain, just because you're paranoid, don't mean they're not after you. . .

Stultórum númere infinitum est.

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sloopskipper says on Feb 3, 2008, 21:23:

jaja

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billyb says on Feb 4, 2008, 09:31:

"Today's leading article in Cali's newpaper El País was stating that despite being poorer relatively equipped, Colombia's army was seven times larger than Venezuela's. This muscle-flexing, "We can take 'em" attitude is getting scarey. . ."

SIV, how is a newspaper doing a relevant comparison of military capabilities considered a "muscle-flexing, "We can take 'em" attitude"?

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Albatross says on Feb 4, 2008, 09:34:

"It's time for Venezuelans to do something about their Loco in Chief before he creates a disastrous situation" -
I wish we had done something about ours.

“Democracy - a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance." - H.L. Mencken

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billyb says on Feb 4, 2008, 09:35:

Sure we have, ours is done in less than a year, what about theirs?

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tasco66 says on Feb 6, 2008, 09:55:

“the Falklands, was dictator Leopoldo Galtieri's last-ditch effort to boost the nation's sense of strength, and to distract it from the reality that it was caught in an economic maelstrom."

Yep, and this last-ditch effort from Chavez will end up the same way it did for Leopoldo Galtieri. History keeps on repeating itself.

Not being bound to swear to the dogmas of any master

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slguy says on Feb 6, 2008, 11:42:

vlad, your viewpoints always fascinate me. your virulent anti-american positions sometimes have a little basis in reality, sometimes not.

in this case, your blame of "US-centric press" for the entire thinking world's criticism of Comrade Payaso just doesn't flush. Too many world leaders, exclusive of our allies, have chimed in with their disgust with the antics of this clown. your failure to recognize serious psychological issues, solely because it's housed in your darling leftist rhetoric, is remarkable, quite frankly.

His support of the narco-terrorist FARC is a case in point. I feel comfortable saying that millions of people worldwide took to the streets this week to demonstrate, very clearly, the fallacy any "people's revolution" in colombia. but i guess in your view, all those millions of people are simply US-centric folks acting at the behest of The Empire....

Before you throw me out, make sure I pay my bar tab

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Robert Jorge says on Feb 8, 2008, 01:19:

They're all rich too slguy. (the marchers)

He who farts in church, sits in his own pew.

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gatogris says on Feb 8, 2008, 08:07:

Hugo Chavez is not standing on solid ground. Things are not going well.

There are problems that need to be solved, the millions of unemployed, the rural poverty, the confusion in the private sector, the lack of expertise, the gap between what the government said it would do for the country and its actual state, the deficit. Chavez cannot solve these problems and it is hard to see who will or when.

Economic stagnation, internal disappointments, bureacratic inertia and the immobility of the poor always push populists of third world countries in one of two directions: they become dictators or they escalate their activities abroad, artificially inflate a foreign policy.

Chavez has tried to make up for his domestic failures with a foreign policy that enhanced his prestige in the region and around the world. His international policies have attracted more and more of his passion, more and more of his time. He enjoys visits and showboating opportunities. He can be entertaining, even captivating. His ambitions are huge. I think he at least considers supporting the FARC. His alliances with the Iranians and Turkmenistan, Zimbabwe, Cuba and China show overweaning reach.

Venezuela seeks to become a pivotal Third World state, but the cost of achieving this status, above all the finacial cost, is staggering. Chavez's ambitions are eating up billions of which his own country is in crying need. This is not lost on Venezuelans, even Chavistas.

Gradually, the gap between Chavez's domestic and foreign policies is growing wider. The contrast is deepening: internationally, Venezuela is earning an international reputation as a pugnancious and determined antagonist as well as a generous and committed ally, offering itself as a haven and a wealthy uncle for those who share its political views: while at home, the country is stagnating, the unemployed fill the squares of every barrio, there is no investment, crime is unacceptably high, illiteracy is still a problem, reactionary bureacracies demand endless filling out of forms, paranoia is rampant, and imaginary intrigues absorb the attention of the government.

This gap between foreign and domestic politics, typical of many overreaching third world countries, can never last for very long. The country itself, even if it has been bound together by the president's own making, always drags him back down to earth. The country, the people, cannot carry the burden of these policies for long. It cannot afford to; and it has no interest in them.

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slguy says on Feb 8, 2008, 08:51:

The LAST thing El Payaso wants is a literate populace.

Before you throw me out, make sure I pay my bar tab

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gatogris says on Feb 9, 2008, 08:49:

Here is a good article supporting my opinionated claims:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/09/world/americas/09venez.html?ref=worl...

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