Gathering Support From Dictators
Hugo Chavez continues his world tour of dictatorships, lining them up behind his bid to get Venezuela a seat on the UN Security Council. Today, he's visiting Syria. Of course, his anti-Semitic rants will continue.
Chavez has been a fierce critic of Israel's month-long offensive in Lebanon and has found common ground with Syria, which has irked the West with its declarations of support for Hezbollah Shiite militants in Lebanon.
During a visit to China last week he denounced Israel's war against Hezbollah in Lebanon as "genocide," likening its action to war crimes committed by Germany's Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
Chavez is lining up the support of thugs all over the world.
"I am sure that support is going to continue growing," Chavez told state television, speaking from the eastern Chinese city of Jinan.
U.S. officials, alarmed by Chavez's deepening ties with countries like Iran and North Korea, are backing Guatemala for the U.N. seat instead. The race is expected to be decided by the General Assembly in a secret ballot in October.
Chavez rattled off a list of regional groups that he said were mostly backing Venezuela after two months of campaigning by diplomats.
"China, Russia, the majority of the countries of the African Union, the Arab League, Mercosur, Caricom — and many countries don't say it," Chavez said. Caricom is made up of 15 Caribbean nations, while Mercosur is a trade bloc of five South American countries.
Chavez said the United States, in opposing Venezuela, "has turned this into a sort of battle for the world."
"The U.S. government has been sending letters to the majority of the countries in the world," opposing Venezuela, Chavez said. "Many governments … react against the empire because they realize it's immoral for the U.S. empire to try to keep a small, modest country like Venezuela from entering a body, whatever it is."
Chavez Is quite full of himself, isn't he?
Uncategorized | Gaius August 28, 2006
