1/05/2005

Hugo Chavez, Thief

It should not be a surprise to anyone, but Venezuelan socialist thug Hugo Chavez is trying to confiscate land belonging to British nationals. This combination of wanton disrespect for property-rights and vicious Jew-baiting (see previous post) is more and more disturbing. In retrospect, the Bush Administration's error in endorsing Chavez's "election" is all the more aggregious. Granted, we have a great deal at stake in a stable flow of Venezuelan oil, and the election came at a bad time for the commodities market; but that was a short-term problem, which we have traded for a long-term problem. I believe that Chavez will only leave office feet-first or at gunpoint, and given the many signs of his dangerous ambition, I say that we should speedily see him out the door.

As an aside: one could say that Jimmy Carter was serving as a proxy for the State Department when he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Chavez and announced to the world that the election was free and fair, in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Regardless, I wonder how the man can bear to sleep at night, given his unending love-affairs with Leftist tyrants, terrorists, and murderers of all stripes. It takes a great deal of talent to bungle up your foreign-policy as badly as did Carter during his time in office, and it seems that he learned nothing from the experience.

No comments: