"The Smart Way to Beat Tyrants Like Chávez," by Donald Rumsfeld, 12/1/07
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/30/AR2007113001800.htmlHe says we should get rid of any remaining "checks and balances" in our own government (i.e., that fusty old Congress) so the U.S. can "act swiftly" in support of "friends and allies" in South America (i.e., guys like this Venezuelan fascist and Colombian rightwing paramilitary thugs planning coups). He especially wants to reward the Bush Cartel's fascist pals in Colombia for chainsawing union leaders and throwing their body parts into mass graves, and torturing and killing thousands of union leaders, small peasant farmers, political leftists, human rights workers and journalists, with a fatcat "free trade" deal, on top of the billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars pouring into Colombia in military aid. The "free trade" deal is for economic warfare against democratic countries with lots of oil and other natural resources (Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia) that Exxon Mobile, the World Bank/IMF, et al, want to regain control of, as the preliminary to "swift" action in support of "friends and allies" (fascist coups).
It's important to understand what the psyops and disinformation in our war profiteering corporate news monopolies, against Hugo Chavez and other leftists in South America, is FOR--as well as how it works. This Venezuelan "opposition" item, for instance, is followup to the Bush "drug czar" pronouncement two days ago, that Chavez is a cocaine trafficker. (Hot fax machine activity from Bush/DC to Caracas, on the latest "talking point.") "Chavez the tyrant" didn't play in South America, because they know differently - and it isn't playing all that well here either. Chavez, of the dirty political money (the "suitcase full of money" Bush/CIA caper, to "divide and conquer" allies Venezuela and Argentina - see my Journal) failed in its purpose, and is being laughed at throughout South America, but will continue in the "news" via Bush/U.S. Attorney in Miami's absurd prosecution, and may catch on here. Chavez the "terrorist" (cuz he got 2 hostages released by FARC leftist guerrillas in Colombia, where everyone else has failed) is not playing well with the hostages families nor other interested parties like the president of France. "Chavez the cocaine trafficker" (bolstered by Chavez's casual admission that he chews coca leaves like millions of other upstanding denizens of the Amazon, where they drink coca leaf tea like coffee and serve it in all restaurants) will fuzz minds here in the U.S. for a while, and is related to the dreadful, murderous, corrupt, failed Bush/U.S. "war on drugs" (war profiteer boondoggle) and other war/oil profiteer projects, which brings me to what it all FOR...
Basically what we are looking at is Oil War II: South America. It's my guess it will start in Bolivia (Chavez ally), where Rumsfeld/local fascist destabilization plans against the first indigenous president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, are progressing nicely. Rich rural landowners - in the region where Bolivia's oil/gas reserves are - aim to split their provinces off from the central government, to deny benefit of those resources to Bolivia's vast poor indigenous population, which is now concentrated in urban areas. The rich landowners will declare "independence" and try to draw Morales (and Chavez?) into a shooting war, and will call upon the U.S. (Bush) to land U.S. troops in support of "friends and allies" (as Rumsfeld puts it). A big political fight will ensue about the legitimacy of this split-off government in Bolivia. Meanwhile, Rumsfeld will have gained launching pad 2 (with Colombia) for his moves against oil-rich Ecuador (Chavez ally) and Venezuela.
It seems unreal - but when did that ever stop the NeoCons and associated war profiteers? They will lose this war, but when did that ever stop them either? U.S. taxpayers - with a $10 trillion Bush deficit - can't afford a third war (Iraq, Afghanistan, South America), but when did that ever...etc.? And anyway, Rumsfeld has billions of dollars, stolen from the U.S. treasury in Iraq and via off-the-record budgets, stashed away around the world, and has developed a private army at U.S. taxpayer expense (Blackwater, which has training camps in Colombia, where it has been recruiting for Iraq).
I think Rumsfeld and cartel feel a certain urgency to get U.S. boots on the ground (probably in Bolivia, first) before Bush's term is over, due to diminishing strategic ground. For instance, Ecuador's Rafael Correa has promised NOT to renew the U.S. military base lease in Ecuador this year. (The base is ostensibly used for "war on drugs" surveillance flights - but, to Rumsfeld - and no doubt to all Bushites - the "war on drugs" is just a means to power - a tool with which to kill leftists, fund fascists, surveil civilian political activities and governments, and militarize every situation, also probably to protect the bigger drug lords). Also, Hugo Chavez has made some progress toward a potential peace settlement of Colombia's civil war, and THAT prospect has the Bushites in a panic. In many ways, it's now or never for them.
There are three main reasons for Oil War II:
1) Oil, obviously (Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador all now have governments that want the country's resources to benefit the poor - horror of horrors! And they all have lots of oil, lusted after by Exxon Mobile et al).
2) Leftist governments have been elected in Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Chile and Nicaragua (likely add Paraguay, this year) - a leftist sweep of the continent - and the Bolivarians (Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador) are strongly allied with each other and have strong allies in these other governments (most especially Argentina, but true of all of them - with Chile being the weakest link in this solid leftist block) - the Bushite window of opportunity for restoring fascist rule, at least in the oil rich countries, is closely fast, as these governments solidify their common goals.
3) It's not just the oil - it's also World Bank/IMF loan shark financing of the third world countries, and global corporate predator exploitation (slave labor pools, and other resources, services and infrastructure - such as Bechtel's effort to control the water in Bolivia) - these leftist countries are rejecting U.S. dominated "free trade," the U.S. "war on drugs," U.S./global corporate predator control of their resources, AND World Bank/IMF load sharkism (they've created their own regional bank - the Bank of the South - which is driving the World Bank/IMF out of the region).
Hugo Chavez - a hugely popular and visionary leader - has spearheaded many of these positive developments (political initiatives and institutions that serve the vast poor majority, as well as the long term good of all South Americans). That is why he and his government are a particular target of the Bushites and the Bushite-dominated corporate press. However, this revolution is very deep. It has many leaders, and massive grass roots support. It is also peaceful and democratic, and therefore difficult to attack and destroy. Venezuela, for instance, has an election system that puts our own to shame, for its transparency. What we are seeing in Venezuela, and throughout the region, is a GENUINE expression of the will of the people. It is the PEOPLE who have rejected U.S.-dominated "free trade," and the murderous U.S. "war on drugs," etc. And this is the result of long hard work on transparent elections and other democratic institutions (by the OAS, the Carter Center, EU election monitoring groups, and, above all, by local grass roots civics groups) in all of these countries, where the leadership is now trying to right past wrongs, and do what is best for the majority, and for individual country and regional, social justice-oriented economic growth.
Therefore, the intense psyops/disinformation campaign, by the Bushites and the corporate press, against Chavez and others, has ANOTHER purpose. It cannot sway - and has not swayed - the people of South America. I think it is intended to put we, the citizens of the U.S., to sleep while Oil War II is initiated. If north Americans have the buzz in their heads that Hugo Chavez is a...(fill in the blank)...dictator, cocaine trafficker, terrorist, corrupt politician...we won't care if his ally Bolivia is destabilized and invaded, preliminary to an all-out oil war, by economic, military and covert means. Why raise a fuss about the destruction of democratic countries in South America, IF YOU DON'T KNOW THAT THEY ARE DEMOCRATIC? Why raise a fuss about toppling and/or killing elected leaders IF YOU'VE BEEN LED TO BELIEVE THEY ARE DRUG LORDS OR TERRORISTS? ...that is, if you have this buzz in your ear, based on nothing - no facts, no evidence (and indeed contradicted by all facts and evidence) - that these are bad leaders, and it therefore DOESN'T MATTER what happens to them.
Another reason for the disinformation is to prevent us from seeing examples of the power of the people in truly democratic systems. Example: Here, we have rightwing Bushite corporations 'counting' all our votes, with 'TRADE SECRET,' PROPRIETARY programming code, with virtually no audit/recount controls (--a fascist coup on which our Democratic leadership colluded). Many states of the U.S. have a ZERO audit of the voting (automatic recount to check for error/fraud - and some of them have NO ballot TO recount); and the best of states do only a 1% audit (miserably inadequate). In Venezuela, they handcount a whopping 55% of the votes, as a check on machine error/fraud - and THEY have an "OPEN SOURCE" code system (anyone may review the code by which the votes are tabulated). Their audit is four times the minimum needed to detect error/fraud. Our auditing of "TRADE SECRET" code system is 0% to 1%. (--and we wonder why we have El Stupido as our president and a feckless 'Democratic' Congress!)
Neither the Bushites, nor the corporate Democrats, want us to know this - that Venezuela (and other South American countries) - have a far, far better election system than our own. And as for ideas like using a country's resources to bootstrap the poor leaking from the southern hemisphere into the northern hemisphere - well you can imagine the motivation to prevent it.
But, given Rumsfeld's recent op-ed in the Washington Post, laying out the scheme for economic and military warfare to destroy democratic countries in South America, and steal their oil and other resources, and enslave them once again - as Colombia is enslaved - to U.S./global corporate predator control - I think we have to recognize that a "hot" war is more than possible, and that the disinformation campaign (Chavez the "dictator," Chavez the crazed coca leaf chewer, etc.) is one of its preliminaries.
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