Articles in the Venezuela Category
Carter, Jimmy, Military Coup, United States, Venezuela »
“I think there is no doubt that in 2002, the United States had at the very least full knowledge about the coup, and could even have been directly involved,” Carter said in an interview with El Tiempo published Sunday. (full article…)
Guantanamo, The Guardian, United States, Venezuela, War on Terror »
A blog posting by Miss Universe that described Guantánamo Bay as a “relaxing, calm, beautiful place” has been removed from the pageant’s website. (more…)
Chavez, Hugo, Hamas, Hizbollah, Lebanon, United States, Venezuela »
A new book published in the United States alleges that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is an active and open supporter of Hamas and Hezbollah, providing the Lebanese Shi’ite militia with training for its fighters. (more…)
9/11, Afghanistan, American Foreign Policy, Bush, George W., Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, McCain, John, Obama, Barack, Pakistan, Putin, Vladimir, Taliban, United Nations, United States, Venezuela, Vietnam, al-Qaeda »
If the presidential debate Friday night told us anything, it was that whichever of these candidates is elected, we can expect more wars, or at least more conflicts that put U.S. forces or citizens in danger for dubious reasons. Neither John McCain nor Barack Obama came close to questioning the "bipartisan" consensus on U.S. foreign policy, that the U.S. should be the prime mover and shaker in the world at large. They differ, and in some ways that are fairly important, on details. But on the central question of whether it is the United States’ job to go out there and fix the world, there was no disagreement.
To be sure, taking candidates at their word during a debate is not necessarily advisable for one who would be so foolish as to try to predict what they will do once in office. Politicians as a breed are not noted for being especially candid on the campaign trail, of course. Furthermore, every president faces unexpected foreign-policy challenges (Truman didn’t expect Korea, Carter didn’t expect Iran, Dubya didn’t expect 9/11, etc.). Still, the Bushlet has left some open sores out there in the rest of the world. So the next president is likely to have to deal with winding down the war in Iraq and figuring out what to do in Afghanistan and Pakistan, which will require reaching some kind of accommodation with Iran. Neither candidate seems to realize this, so they competed to see who could say the most childishly nasty things.
