The Actor

Venezuela stages mock foreign invasion Reuters.com

Hugo Chavez really is a clever actor. In efforts to stoke anti-American sentiment and unite his people behind him, he holds mock invasions. He points to this as preperations for a future U.S. invasion that he claims is almost certain. Maybe to the poor and illiterate in Venezuala this works, or to those who will believe anything that is anti-U.S., but to anyone who can read the news and pays attention to the real U.S. government, rather than the imperial phantom Chavez has created, this idea is irrational and absurd.

With all the problems the U.S. is facing, why would we invade Venezuela? North Korea is a potential threat, with its likely nuclear weapons and the growing capability to launch them at the U.S. So is Iran, with its insistence on enriching uranium and its threats to Israel. And if it was all about oil, Iran seems like a much better target, since we would have reasons for invading Iran that would mask the drive for oil.

And besides all this, we are still having enough difficulties as it is with Iraq. Unless we had a compelling reason to invade any other country, such as the threat of nuclear reasons, I don't believe there is any possibility of it happening. Chavez is overplaying his own importance. I'm sure if he weren't using all this anti-American rhetoric, the government and media would largely ignore him. He's an actor who is using the stage effectively to solidify his grip on the country and though he is a threat to his own people, our country's best and most likely policy is to do nothing.

I know I've said he is a threat, but upon learning more about him, my opinion is changing. He is democratically elected and there is little we can complain about there. He may be misusing his power, but only Venezuelans can do anything about that. I pity them, but they seem to have brought it upon themselves. As long as his only tool is oil money and as long as all he does is use inane rhetoric, we are safe. We should, however, keep a close eye on him.