Posted on 05/02/2006 6:28:09 PM PDT by wjersey
With much of the national attention and debate fixated on Iran and Iraq, a number of folks are missing the growing communist threat rifling through Latin America.
Ronald Reagan fixed this in the 1980's with a strong, principled stand for democracy and backing the freedom fighters in El Salvador and Nicaragua. CIA Director Bill Casey undertook covert actions even in the face of left-wing Democratic congressional outrage and the stupid debate over the War Powers Act.
It worked in Central and South America, as the dominoes of democracy started falling everywhere.
Now, twenty years later, leftist governments are rearing their ugly heads in Venezuela, Bolivia, Argentina, and perhaps Mexico and Peru. U.S. oil companies are being nationalized. China is aligning itself with Cuba and Venezuela to explore and drill offshore oil just forty-five miles off the Florida Keys.
That begs the question, why isn't the United States drilling there?
And, perhaps more importantly, what is our government policy regarding this burgeoning leftward tilt in Latin America--which by the way is a safe harbor for a number of terrorist groups including Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad, all of which are actively plotting to destroy the United States?
This is very serious stuff. The U.S. government needs a clear and aggressive response to this leftist revolt that threatens our hemisphere.
And by the way, what actions will our government take to defend our corporations from expropriation? Since when do we allow foreign governments to take over the assets of American companies?
Can we come up with even another BLATANTLY IMPORTANT reason to close our borders to the pan-american highway of unidentified undesireables flow into America??? The scumbag countries and their reprobate dictators are lending more and more credibility why the U.S. should isolate its southern border...but of course we have the NEW WORLD ORDER CABLAL that is fighting that...no need to mention names.
After China became capitalist and drove up the price of oil, I am not sure that we are better off if South America becomes capitalist.
Obviously the author is clueless. Aramco, founded as a joint venture by four of the largest American oil companies was nationalized in the 1970s by our "good friends" the House of Saud. The oil fields of Iran and Iraq were also nationalized by their leaders a few decaades ago.
The answer to the "since when" question is: "forever".
Who can blame Hugo Chavez for doing what the Arabs did. It seemed to work for them, after all.
"what is our government policy regarding this burgeoning leftward tilt in Latin America?"
Bush is limited in his options. These latin american countries are tilting left due to the results at the ballot box. Like it or not, these leftists were voted in democractically.
These are French, English (BP), and Brazilian assets. Thus the Kudlow column.
I'm not aware as yet of any American assets being seized.
Just one more reason to invest in energy production at home.
Failed Communism is on the upswing in Latin America. We can either build the wall now or build it under fire when the bullets start flying.
Actually, we have never resisted a take-over.
We are forever accused of stealing the oil of other countries, but in actual fact that has never happened. Never. The reverse has happened, however, we have had our investments seized.
Mexico, 1938, nationalized its oil industry, which is to say, they seized US oil investments. Despite some agitation to do something about it, Roosevelt refused to intervene, and the oil companies negotiated the best deal they could get, and parted company.
And, Venezuela in the early seventies. Venezuela nationalized its oil industry, which again means they seized the holdings of Exxon, Shell, and Chevron primarily. Again, there was no thought of intervention on the part of the US, the companies negotiated the best deal they could get, and parted friends, and continued to assist on a consulting basis. And continued to invest, but with the terms of divorce typically built right into the contract.
US companies always, nowadays, go into a country with the "prenup" built in, describing how they will operate for so many years, and then hand it over to the host government. The problem, now, is that Chavez doesn't even want to wait for the contract to run out. These companies are discovering that a prenup with Chavez isn't worth the paper its printed on.
The problem for Chavez is that their investment dollars are going to shift away to other, more honest, opportunities. You can cheat your brother-in-law once or twice, but after that you need to find a new brother-in-law. Chavez may think he's found one in China, but something tells me they drive a harder bargain than we do.
We need the wall now.
As for the Latins, I say let them do thimselves in with the suicide of socialism if they want. I'm sick of the US having to travel the world saving loony-tune crackpot socialist and other "brainiac" cults (i.e. Islam) from doing their own societies in.
Let them live in their own crap-fouled nests.
I'm with ya.
And Russia becoming capitalist and cornering the weapons market, so it can "sell" (More like give away) millions of AK-103 rifles and other weapons of war to communist latin soldiers.
A closet commie has a good chance to be elected president of Mexico in July. Things could get real interestin' down on the border afterwards.
Ping.
Sounds like Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez are hard at work too.
I think there is a difference between some form of agreement to transition from a private company to a foreign entity (granting there wasn't much choice but to agree or pull out all feasible assets) as opposed to what Bolivia and Chavez just did which is to say "this is how it's going to be and if you don't like it then you will need to leave your marbles and go home."
Politicians in both parties are selling this nation down the river. It's going to take a real leader to stand up and fight for America, or else...
Guess who else is in Venezuela learning US special forces training.... The Spetsnaz!!!
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