Pat Robertson and Hugo Chavez

As we all know, this past summer Pat Robertson called for the assassination of Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez. He’s “apologized” since then, but he still has Chavez in his crosshairs.

Robertson is privy to some incredible intelligence information that nobody else has. Where does he get this info — from God? According to Robertson’s secret hotline, Chavez tried to donate money to Osama bin Laden after the 9/11 attacks. He’s also trying to obtain nuclear materials from Iran.

Sounds like a variation on “the British government has learned that Saddam Hussein has sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.” Is there a pattern here? Let’s see, “Weapons of Mass Destruction!” has already been done. Let’s change the wording a little.

Robertson said “The truth is, this man is setting up a Marxist-type dictatorship in Venezuela, he’s trying to spread Marxism throughout South America, he’s negotiating with the Iranians to get nuclear material and he also sent $US 1.2 million in cash to Osama bin Laden right after 9/11. I apologized and I said I will be praying for him, but one day we will be staring at nuclear weapons and it won't be (Hurricane) Katrina facing New Orleans, it’s going to be a Venezuelan nuke.”

In addition to getting exclusive intelligence information — from God or whoever — Pat Robertson is also a meteorologist. The forecast: fire and brimstone, hurricanes, earthquakes, leading to the End of Times — and then The Rapture. Hallelujah!!

Now, is Pat Robertson just an oddball, a wacko has-been televangelist who’s barely tolerated by our government? Or is there a method here? Maybe Robertson is serving a purpose. Instead of the Bush Administration having to do even more saber-rattling — leave it to someone like Pat. And if anyone calls him on it, they can just say “oh, come on, nobody listens to that doddering old fool. Just let him ramble. He’s harmless.”

Our government is very concerned about Hugo Chavez. That is, the corporations that have our government by the shorthairs are threatened by him. He’s a Leftist; his ambition is to redistribute wealth and reduce the gap between rich and poor. This is intolerable to Bechtel, Halliburton, the oil companies and the international banking cartel.

OK, so his government sucks. He’s taken away a lot of freedoms that Venezuela has enjoyed since 1958. Do you think that’s why our government is worried about him? Riiight.

Venezuela, along with Bolivia to a lesser extent, has been thumbing its nose at its corporate colonizers. Like most of Latin America, there’s a huge gap between Venezuela’s rich and poor. The wealthiest people are mostly of European ancestry, and the poor — who make up the vast majority — are mostly Indians. Chavez is trying — without much success so far — to remedy this.

Venezuela is experimenting with the kind of “socialism” that Guatemala was trying in the early 1950s. The CIA organized a coup and overthrew their government in 1954.

If our government is terrified of communism spreading throughout Latin America, the best way to counter it would be to rein in the excesses of the corporations that control this region. When millions of poor people are treated like just so much raw material by their colonizers, communism or socialism might sound like an alternative. The grass is always greener…

Our “leaders” probably won’t drum up much interest by talking about the rights of Halliburton and the oil companies to acquire even more wealth. It makes a much better sales pitch to push the right buttons — Communism is spreading like a cancer throughout Latin America! Venezuela is acquiring nuclear weapons from Iran! Chavez is donating money to Osama bin Laden!

Well, whaddya think? Shall we topple Hugo Chavez? Come on, it’ll be a cakewalk. Our soldiers will be greeted as liberators. They’ll be showered with candy and flowers by throngs of grateful Venezuelans.

Cross-posted at Bring It On!