[coconutt2000]

Congratulations are in order for Jimmy Carter.

[PetroniusMaximus]

China is behind this.

[rovenstinez]

and NOT to leave out Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of Mexico

[msnimje]

May they enjoy their poverty and lack of freedoms.

[armydawg1]

This would be a great time to start shipping the illegals home, let their new socialist governments take care of them.

[Thunder90]

Chavez PING

[Donald Rumsfeld Fan]

It may seem improvised, but those who know Morales said his is a calculated campaign that draws its strength from the support he has built across Bolivia through his political party, the Movement Toward Socialism.

[Wolfhound777]

Some of my initial thoughts on neglect of our own back yard:

1. We are asleep at the switch. We have lost the ability to be proactive with our influence and now just react to events after they happen.

2.We can't multi task. We have tunnel vision for the trouble spot du jour. We are focused on the Middle East, not the middle east plus Russia-China or South America and what their interests might be or how they see themselves projecting power. Even if there have been some astute analysts that have been ringing the alarm bell for the last few years, it doesn't matter because their bureaucrat bosses don't want to rock the boat or be seen as politically incorrect. Congress would be all over them for the audacity of reports that might bring negative connotations to their constituents third world toilet home country. Even if that home country is becoming a threat, we just have to pull the wool over everyones eyes and pretend that all is well.

3. Our intelligence agencies are completely incompetent and refuse to see the monsters under the bed. They have all been educated at ivy league institutions of liberal think and can't see the problems for what they are. We need to hire more warriors not candy a$$ analysts. There are plenty of analysts already and their ability to fuse intelligence into an accurate big picture is suspect.

4. The State Department has forgotten that they are employed to work for solely (diplomatically of course) for our national interests and not for the interests of the countries that they get posted to. I have seen and heard too many of these loons publicly rail against and chastise the US in favor of the country that they are working in. That's unacceptable and they should be relieved of duty on the spot.

5. The Demoncrats are secretly all for the United States being surrounded by socialists and communists as this is the new Progessive way of government that they want to bring to America. So don't count on Congress to address the problem any time soon.

6. Half the citizens in this country couldn't care less as long as they have their MTV.

7. The communists saw the opening and lull in our interest and took the initiative.

[backhoe]

-The Fire Down South...( Latin America--)--

[muir_redwoods]

"In Latin America, a leftist vision is taking hold"

Good. Now the better part of a whole continent has volunteered to be uncompetitive in the world economy. With any luck, as their fortunes dwindle, maybe they will go to war with each other. The US Economy will boom.

Suckers!