Chavez, Kim Jung-il, and Obama in Cairo
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On to business…
Hugo Chavez Dodges Another Bullet (Well, not really)
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez recently decided to skip a scheduled trip to El Salvador. Why? Why else? There was an “assassination plot” against him. Yahoo news reports:
CARACAS, Venezuela – President Hugo Chavez on Tuesday alleged that U.S. intelligence agencies were behind a purported assassination plot that prevented him from visiting El Salvador.
Chavez had planned to attend the inauguration of leftist President Mauricio Funes in the Central American nation on Monday, but said he canceled his trip due to the alleged plot.
“I don’t doubt that the intelligence organizations of the United States are behind this,” Chavez said, accusing them of plotting with Cuban militant Luis Posada Carriles to murder him.
He said Venezuelan intelligence services have “very precise information” that they were planning to launch rockets at the Cubana de Aviacion plane he was going to travel in.
“Very precise information?” Don’t hold your breath waiting to see it. If he had it, he’d be touting it on every major news channel around the globe. This is typical Chavez – play up the external enemy in the hopes that it will boost waning support at home. El Presidente goes on to make a weak distinction between “Comrade Obama” and the would be perpetrators:
“I’m not accusing Obama,” he said. “I think Obama has good intentions, but beyond Obama there’s an empire — the CIA and all its tentacles: Terrorists and paramilitaries.”
Every time something happens in Latin America – it was the CIA. And when nothing happens in Latin America – it was the CIA. This is the same old song and dance. I lived in Latin America for over 6 years. The CIA gets way more credit than they deserve for events.
Kim Jong-un to Succeed Kim Jung-il in North Korea (many Kims still jobless)
As if things couldn’t get any worse on the Korean Peninsula, Kim Jong-il’s third son (shown on the left in his only known photograph), 26 year old Kim Jong-un has been officially anointed as the next leader of North Korea. According to the Washington Post:
Former classmates at a Swiss boarding school describe a shy student who loved basketball and Jean-Claude Van Damme. Recent reports describe him as overweight and a heavy drinker. Now 26, Kim Jong Un has reportedly been tapped to become the next leader of nuclear-armed North Korea…But he’s already being hailed as “our Commander Kim,” and North Koreans are busy learning the lyrics to a new song praising him as the next leader of the world’s first communist dynasty.
Not exactly Alexander the Great. From The BBC’s official profile:
Swiss-educated like his brothers, Kim Jong-un avoided Western influences, returning home when not in school and dining out with the North Korean ambassador.
Since his return to Pyongyang, little has been made public about his character.
In 2006, badges bearing his image were said to be circulating among senior officials of the ruling Korean Workers’ Party, arousing suspicions that he had been chosen as Kim Jong-il’s successor.
He’s said to be the “spitting image” of his father. Great. Hopefully somebody will buy this kid a Nintendo Wii and keep him away from the nuclear controls.
President Obama Speaks in the Middle East
In another impressive display of statesmanship, President Barack Obama addressed the “Muslim World” from Cairo. He didn’t beat his chest and declare that those who aren’t “with us” must be “against us”, and he didn’t insist on speaking down to one of the world’s most populous regions. Instead, he spoke to them like adults and firmly laid the foundation for future relations. The Economist was there:
“The cycle of suspicion and discord must end,” Mr Obama declared, to enthusiastic applause. “I have come to seek a new beginning, based on co-operation and respect.” Punctuated with quotations from the Koran, the speech ranged from pressing issues such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Iran’s nuclear ambitions to principles such as democracy and women’s rights. It culminated in a vision of a more tolerant and peaceful world.
The American president did not shy away from chiding some Muslims for their reluctance to condemn violent extremism or the tendency to measure their own faith by rejection of another. He made a strong pitch for America’s own vision of religious freedom, and called for understanding of the historical suffering of Jews. Castigating the denial of the Nazi Holocaust as “baseless, ignorant and hateful”, he took an indirect swipe at Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. But he also evoked Palestinians’ suffering, describing their situation as “intolerable”. He forthrightly repeated his demand for an end to Jewish colonisation of Palestinian territory.
When it comes to foreign policy, Obama is able to speak with a firmness like no other recent president. But for some strange reason, neocons and far-right conservatives don’t seem to hear the message. Instead, they insist that every time he speaks abroad he “apologizes” for the U.S. or, as GOP and Fox News pundit Sean Hannity says, Obama “is embarrassed of America.” Strangely, the transcripts of these speeches contain no such apologies or hints of embarrassment. Humility (an unknown concept to the far right) does not equate to weakness. It’s demonstrative of maturity, intelligence, and pragmatism.
I like the words. Now let’s see some action.
See you next week.
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About the Author: Randall H. Miller is an American college educator/blogger. He is also a former U.S. Army officer (82nd Airborne) with a M.A. in Diplomacy (focusing on International Terrorism) and a B.A. in Criminal Justice. Use the form on the right to sign up and receive notifications of new content. The words and ideas expressed here are 100% his own and not those of his employers or affiliated organizations.
Frank the Tank | Jun 5, 2009 | Reply
Obama’s speech wasn’t half bad, but we can we drop the self flagellation over America being a nation that “tortures”. Bringing up that subject over and over again as if it is some sort of widespread ongoing practice does nobody any good. Let it go. He apologized once, now drop it. I am curious to see if the diplomacy of his administration matches some of the tougher words in that speech. I’m not going to hold my breath. According to the fawning media America has humbled and prostrated itself to the Islamic world so we shouldn’t have to worry about any more terrorist, oops we don’t use that phrase anymore, I mean man made disasters. It is now the time for the Islamic world to do it’s part and forcefully and publicly on the world stage castigate and call out those in their faith that use Islam as a call to violence, terrorism and religious intolerance. Until that happens we are all still in danger from Islamic extremism in the West. Let’s never forget 9/11.
Frank the Tank | Jun 5, 2009 | Reply
And on Chavez?? He’s just a first class Ass clown. Just ignore him. I wonder if he is feeling some internal political pressure. Venezuela is a mess economically. It’s not the paradise many on the left in this country want you to believe it is.
Kara | Jun 5, 2009 | Reply
Frank, I understand your call to ‘never forget 9/11′ and rightly so. Just look at some of our younger generation who have never heard of the Jewish Holocaust. However, why must we never forget the atrocities of 9/11, yet we need to drop the torture bit and move on? Why the double standard?