http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/07/25/belarus.chavez.reut/index.html
Chavez being Chavez… and now he has a buddy. :rolleyes:
In light of this grave threat to U.S. national security, there’s all the more reason to pull all of our troops out of Iraq as soon as possible. Don’t you agree?
“Our countries must keep their hands at the ready on the sword,” Chavez, in ex-Soviet Belarus as part of a world tour, said on a visit to a military academy.
There’s their problem right there. You see, the rest of us use guns.
Come now. What grave threat is this of which you speak? I can’t tell if this is sarcasm or not.
As for pulling troops out of Iraq, there is a myriad of reasons why we should do so, and there are compelling reasons as to why we should not, but this fits neither bill.
Yes, I was being sarcastic. I’m not going to be losing any sleep over any “strategic alliance” between two countries so distant from us (and from each other!) as Venezuela and Belarus. I thought the eye-roll smiley in the previous paragraph might have hinted at that… 
It is rich to hear Lukashenko speak of resisting “the forces of dictatorship.” 
Still . . . Chavez is also going to Russia to buy military helicopters. This might not be an insignificant development in the New Cold War.
We surrender!
Are Venezuela and Belarus forming the Axis of Just as Evil?
Parlez vous Français?
So what’s the debate then? The quality of your sarcasm?
Well, I bet it makes a few people nervous in the White House, State Department and Defense Department. Venezuela already is allied, and has formed a close economic relationship with, Cuba. Now it is forming alliances with Belarus and Russia. Belarus might not be a powerful country, but it is moderately prosperous by the standards of former Soviet republics. Venezuela and Russia are two of the world’s largest fossil-fuel producers. All four countries have strained relations with the U.S. We might be looking at a whole greater than the sum of its parts, you know?
Exactly how many helicopters does he need to buy before Venezuela presents a significant threat to the United States? A million?
Let him have his tantrums. He’s playing to a domestic audience. So what? Cuba isn’t a threat to the United States, either, and Russia’s not going to get itself involved in a Caribbean war.
My WAG, he only needs the choppers for defense, in event of a Bay-of-Pigs-style invasion or another coup attempt or something. Chavez’ real strength is Venezuela’s oil.
I’m pretty sure the U.S. can take 'em.
The quality is low. Anyone want to take the contrary position?
Yes, as it happens. I think my sarcasm is of exceedingly high quality.
Then I don’t see what the problem is. Let him defend Venezuela against any number of invisible enemies.
Well, folks, we now have a debate! Let the arguments begin (… or not).
Now you’re just being ironic now
Meh, Chavez doing something that helps him in the home market. This kind of bollocks is what got him into power. Why do you think it would change?
There is some potential for the US companies to not make as money in S. America as they have done if the lean towards the left continues but on the whole why would you [del]loose[/del] lose any sleep over if, even sarcastically
The real danger from Chavez (and Belarus, for that matter) is not that they can present a credible force against the U.S., but that they start causing havoc in their own backyards. Cuba was a giant pain in the ass in the 1980’s. So was Nicaragua. If Chavez starts exporting ‘revolution’ to other countries in the area, supply arms to anti-government guerillas, and in general disrupting the region, it could cause all kinds of problems for the U.S.
As for the helicopters, they may not be just for show. Helicopters are excellent for counter-insurgency work, razing villages of ‘collaborators’, etc. They’re a very useful tool in a dictator’s bag of tricks - the whole northern and southern no-fly zones in Iraq were established to prevent Saddam from using helicopters against his own people.