Let's keep the Dem's on the run!
Click the Pic!
Posted on 10/03/2003 11:14:09 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
CARACAS (AFP) - President Hugo Chavez has said the US government must address a report by US News and World Report, in which US officials are quoted as saying Venezuela is a potential terror hub and a base for Colombian FARC guerrillas.
"I challenge the staff of US News and World Report or its owners to come here and look for one single shred of evidence, to show the world one single shred of proof," Chavez told foreign reporters here Wednesday.
He added that "the US government should respond to this call. (The magazine) supposedly cites information provided by US government officials."
"If a Venezuelan daily ran something as filthy as this, citing presidential officials here, my government would respond. It is a lie, but all the same, the idea has been planted," Chavez added.
"It is a strategy, to launch an offensive by concocting anything -- an assassination, a coup, an invasion," he said.
In the article, "Terror Close to Home: In oil-rich Venezuela, a volatile leader befriends bad actors from the Mideast, Colombia, and Cuba," reporter Linda Robinson reports that "the oil-rich but politically unstable nation of Venezuela is emerging as a potential hub of terrorism in the Western Hemisphere, providing assistance to Islamic radicals from the Middle East and other terrorists." She adds, citing US officials, that Chavez "is fast becoming America's newest nemesis."
US News and World Report said in a statement last week that a two-month review by the weekly newsmagazine, "including interviews with dozens of US and Latin American sources, confirms the terrorist activity."
It charges that "Middle East terror groups are operating support cells in Venezuela and other locations in the Andean region."
"US officials are monitoring developments that show the South American nation is providing assistance to Islamic radicals from the Middle East, and exploring whether there are any al-Qaeda connections," it added.
The magazine also said it has learned that "thousands of Venezuelan identity documents are being distributed to foreigners from Middle Eastern nations, including Syria, Pakistan, Egypt and Lebanon."
One thing that's clear is that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is fast becoming America's newest nemesis, U.S. officials say. He has forged close ties with Cuba's Fidel Castro and has befriended some of America's other notorious enemies, traveling to Saddam's Iraq and Qadhafi's Libya. Now, after surviving an attempted coup and a nationwide petition demanding his recall, Chavez is flirting with terrorism, and Washington is watching with increasing alarm.
"We are not disinterested spectators," says Roger Noriega, the new assistant secretary of state for Latin America. "Any actions that undermine democratic order or threaten the security and well-being of the region are of legitimate concern to all of Venezuela's neighbors." U.S. officials are monitoring three sets of developments:
Middle Eastern terrorist groups are operating support cells in Venezuela and other locations in the Andean region. A two-month review by U.S. News, including interviews with dozens of U.S. and Latin American sources, confirms the terrorist activity. In particular, the magazine has learned that thousands of Venezuelan identity documents are being distributed to foreigners from Middle Eastern nations, including Syria, Pakistan, Egypt, and Lebanon……….***
Not In Our Name and the World Wide Terrorism Web: The "Peace" Movement's Trojan Horse.FrontPageMagazine.com | Wednesday, March 19, 2003 | By Michael Tremoglie ***……..Is NION's financial relationship with IFCO some innocuous charitable funding arrangement? Is it a coincidence that NION donations are funneled through an organization with links to communist and pro-Palestinian groups? Is it a coincidence that NION's donations are mailed to an organization that has links with Castro? Is it a coincidence that NION is operated by an organization with links to Communist terrorists? And do the long list of entertainment industry notables who have signed onto its "Statement of Conscience" aware of NION's links? If not, why not?
The government needs to explain some things, as well. Have the appropriate authorities examined these affiliations? All the data presented in this article is culled from public data. NION's radical connections have been the subject of articles in publications as politically diverse as Mother Jones and National Review. If the government is reluctant to investigate NION because of political concerns, then it has no right to ask military personnel to sacrifice their lives.***
Let's keep the Dem's on the run!
Click the Pic!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.