International Politics
I don't know if you've been paying attention at all to what's been happening in South America, but I've been listening and reading about the situation for several days now. What started as a cross-border raid by Colombian forces against FARC rebels in Ecuador has escalated into potentially a full-blown conflict, but militarily and economically between Colombia and Ecuador/Venezuela. How did Venezuela get involved, you ask? Because Hugo Chavez has more empire-building dreams than he accuses even George Bush of promoting.
In the raid, the Colombians apparently seized a laptop (which means that troops were on the ground in Ecuador) from the FARC (the wonderful anti-Colombian rebel army whose main mission in life seems to be ransoming people for money). The laptop discusses coordination with Ecuadoran forces, meetings with Hugo Chavez and, apparently, funding for the FARC provided by Sr. Chavez himself.
I'm not a big fan of Hugo Chavez. I think he's full of himself and he speaks Spanish like an illiterate hick. What it seems like to me is that he got caught with his proverbial pants around his ankles with this funding thing and now he's trying deflect attention away from his small endowment (puns all around!) by standing up for Ecuador's borders. Not that Venezuela was the country that first declared they were moving troops and tanks into the region.
Obviously a huge part of this whole thing is that Washington currently backs the Colombian government and there are several countries in South and Central America that feel that the US is trying to empire-build. Bush certainly hasn't done much to improve relations around the world and these leaders aren't exactly the kind of people he'd be inviting to a weenie roast on the south lawn.
It saddens me, though, that Chavez will likely emerge from this stronger and more popular than before the situation. I mean, the man is trying to foment open rebellion in a neighboring country. Were I a leader in South America, I would be more than a little concerned that he may turn his attention to my country next. He's done exactly what everyone has been accusing the US of doing for decades and he's getting away with it? I just have to sigh and shake my head.
I hope that eventually people will begin to realize the true importance of what's been uncovered. Of course there's still the question of the authenticity of the documents, but let's just assume for the sake of argument that they are. Then there's someone who's been caught with his hand in the till and we, the western hemisphere, are going to let him get away with it and many are going to applaud his efforts. Just a big WTF? from this little corner of the world...
In the raid, the Colombians apparently seized a laptop (which means that troops were on the ground in Ecuador) from the FARC (the wonderful anti-Colombian rebel army whose main mission in life seems to be ransoming people for money). The laptop discusses coordination with Ecuadoran forces, meetings with Hugo Chavez and, apparently, funding for the FARC provided by Sr. Chavez himself.
I'm not a big fan of Hugo Chavez. I think he's full of himself and he speaks Spanish like an illiterate hick. What it seems like to me is that he got caught with his proverbial pants around his ankles with this funding thing and now he's trying deflect attention away from his small endowment (puns all around!) by standing up for Ecuador's borders. Not that Venezuela was the country that first declared they were moving troops and tanks into the region.
Obviously a huge part of this whole thing is that Washington currently backs the Colombian government and there are several countries in South and Central America that feel that the US is trying to empire-build. Bush certainly hasn't done much to improve relations around the world and these leaders aren't exactly the kind of people he'd be inviting to a weenie roast on the south lawn.
It saddens me, though, that Chavez will likely emerge from this stronger and more popular than before the situation. I mean, the man is trying to foment open rebellion in a neighboring country. Were I a leader in South America, I would be more than a little concerned that he may turn his attention to my country next. He's done exactly what everyone has been accusing the US of doing for decades and he's getting away with it? I just have to sigh and shake my head.
I hope that eventually people will begin to realize the true importance of what's been uncovered. Of course there's still the question of the authenticity of the documents, but let's just assume for the sake of argument that they are. Then there's someone who's been caught with his hand in the till and we, the western hemisphere, are going to let him get away with it and many are going to applaud his efforts. Just a big WTF? from this little corner of the world...