Pentagon
document mentions Venezuela as a concern
By Pablo Bachelt
Knight Ridder Newspapers
WASHINGTON
Petroleumworld.com 02 13 06
A new Pentagon long-term planning document for the first time
mentions Venezuela as a concern, reflecting Washington's mounting
sense that President Hugo Chavez's fiery populism represents a
challenge to U.S. security.
The 2005 Quadrennial
Defense Review says poor income distribution and weak democratic
institutions have led to a ``resurgence of populist authoritarian
political movements in some countries, such as Venezuela.''
``These movements
... are a source of political and economic instability,'' added
the QDR, issued last week. Put out every four years, the QDR serves
as a strategic guide for future U.S. troop allocations and weapons
purchases.
Venezuela's
mention in the QDR was unusual because the document typically
discusses broad trends and seldom mentions individual countries.
Cuba, for example, was not mentioned. The 2001 QDR did not mention
any Latin American country.
The QDR's
reference to Venezuela was the latest in a steady drumbeat of
U.S. statements criticizing the leftist Chavez as an increasingly
authoritarian ruler at home, a buyer of massive new weaponry and
exporter of an aggressive brand of populism that could destabilize
Latin America.
Earlier this
week, Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte said Venezuela
posed the most serious threat to U.S. interests in Latin America
and was seeking closer ties with North Korea and Iran - both accused
of having or seeking nuclear weapons. Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld compared Chavez to the also democratically elected Adolf
Hitler.
Ryan Henry,
the deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, asked later by
a reporter about the Venezuela reference in the QDR, said ``we
do view with concern what's happened in Venezuela, we think that
that's going in the wrong direction.''
In November,
defense analyst William Arkin reported in his Washington Post
blog that a Pentagon budget planning document, known as FY08-13
POM and dated in October, had listed Venezuela as a ``rogue nation''
along with Syria. Pentagon officials confirmed the document's
existence to The Miami Herald, but denied it represented an official
policy view of Caracas.
Venezuela's
ambassador to Washington, Bernardo Alvarez, says his country is
only promoting alternatives to the Bush agenda of development
for Latin America. ``We are not a threat to the national interest
of the United States,'' he told a group of journalists Thursday.
Chavez has
repeatedly alleged that the Bush administration supported a 2002
coup attempt against him and is now plotting to either assassinate
him or invade his oil-rich country. Late last month he alleged
that Washington was considering declaring Venezuela a state sponsor
of terrorism, but gave no details. Washington has just as repeatedly
denied all the charges.
The Bush administration
has been wary of the populist leader for some time. Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice has voiced her concern that governments
elected democratically may then govern undemocratically.
``It is a
greater threat than if you're dealing with an illegitimate authoritarian
regime,'' said Steve C. Ropp, a Latin American and national security
specialist at the University of Wyoming.
The paradox,
he added, is that such populist challenges are likely to get worse
as more countries become democracies and elect leaders that offer
quick-fix solutions for income inequality and corruption, and
often blame Washington's policies for their troubles.
In the QDR,
Venezuela is mentioned in a section titled ``shaping the choices
of countries at strategic crossroads,'' which argues that major
and emerging powers will affect the future strategic position
of Washington and its friends.
``The United
States will attempt to shape these choices in ways that foster
cooperation and mutual security interests,'' the QDR says. ``At
the same time, the United States, its allies and partners must
also hedge against the possibility that a major or emerging power
could choose a hostile path in the future.''
Knight
Ridder Newspapers 02/10/06
Copyright
© 2006 Knight Ridder Newspapers. All rights reserved
