Can Venezuela now launch its own War On Terrorism?
"Its either you are with us or against us"
By Angela John
Trinicenter Staff Writer
April 17, 2002
Lets start by examining a press report which came out of Washington from two sources dated Tuesday April 16, 2002.
Guardian UK - "Chavez, U.S. Find Common Ground" &
Salon.com - "Bush administration refused to support Venezuelan coup".
These are attempts by the U.S. government to save face, in light of the backlash that it expects from the failed coup in Venezuela.
Quoting from the articles....
"The State Department is offering rare words of support for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez following his call for reconciliation after a failed coup attempt.
"We're encouraged by President Chavez's calls for national reflection," State Department spokesman Phil Reeker said Monday. "And we urge all Venezuelans to take advantage of this opportunity to promote national reconciliation and a genuine democratic dialogue." (Article)
These above quotes represent a 180-degree turn from their obvious support for the coup as is implied in the quotes below. They failed to mention that Mr. Chávez also called for his opposition to reflect. His opposition includes the United States government that admitted to having knowledge of attempts to overthrow the democratically elected leader and government of Venezuela.
Here, the U.S. government's actions are at best no different to the supporters of those who bombed their twin towers.
Here are some more U.S. lies, which they are now trying to spin-doctor.
"In recent days, we expressed our hopes that all parties in Venezuela, but especially the Chavez administration, would act with restraint and show full respect for the peaceful expression of political opinion. We are saddened at the loss of life. We wish to express our solidarity with the Venezuelan people and look forward to working with all democratic forces in Venezuela to ensure the full exercise of democratic rights. The Venezuelan military commendably refused to fire on peaceful demonstrators, and the media valiantly kept the Venezuelan public informed.
Yesterday's events in Venezuela resulted in a transitional government until new elections can be held. Though details are still unclear, undemocratic actions committed or encouraged by the Chavez administration provoked yesterday's crisis in Venezuela." -U.S. State Department statement April 12, 2002 (Article)
Mr Chávez never give orders for the military to fire on civilians.
Irish Filmmaker's Eyewitness Account Of Venezuelan Coup D'état
"I arrived in the centre of town just as the shooting started," says Kim. "I filmed a while then took cover in a doorway. Whoever was firing aimed directly at the crowd, which was pro-Chavez." (Article)
Other quotes from, "Chavez, U.S. Find Common Ground"
"On Monday, both Chavez and the U.S. government seemed to try to discourage speculation about any U.S. role in the coup. When a reporter in Caracas asked Chavez whether the United States may have been involved, he responded: "The root is here."
He spoke well of the United States, saying he saluted the U.S. government with "love and affection."
"The root is here." and "love and affection."
Are these the two quotes to be used to justify their headline "Chavez, U.S. Find Common Ground" and "Bush administration refused to support Venezuelan coup."?
The readers were not given the context in which these statements were made and they did not give sources for the entire interview. So as usual, the reader is supposed to blindly accept their interpretation. How can snippets of sentences be used to unequivocally prove a point? This is clearly another exercise in manufacturing opinion.
As many have noted, you can almost hear the back peddling of the U.S. Government. They are now attempting to show that the U.S. government and Chávez are saying the same things in relation to what took place in Venezuela while implying that they played no part in the coup.
Here are two more quotes that point to a U.S. involvement/aiding and abetting the coup in Venezuela.
1."A defence department official quoted by the New York Times yesterday said: "We were not discouraging people." "We were sending informal, subtle signals that we don't like this guy. We didn't say, 'No, don't you dare' and we weren't advocates saying, 'Here's some arms; we'll help you overthrow this guy.'" (Article)
2."The attempt to overthrow Chavez did not really come as a surprise. The only question was what took them so long. Nearly a year ago, a visiting Venezuelan, now living in the US, confidently informed me that a coup was in preparation, with the full support of senior figures in Washington. Chavez had been elected on a promise of radical social reform in a direct challenge to Venezuela's oligarchy. It was unlikely that they would let it pass." (Article)
With respect to the 'War on Terrorism', Mr Bush said:
"I also want to make it clear that the doctrine I laid out to the United States Congress is a doctrine this nation will enforce. It says clearly that if you harbor a terrorist, if you feed a terrorist, if you provide sanctuary to a terrorist, if you fund a terrorist, you are just as guilty as the terrorist that inflicted the harm on the American people." (Full text)
Now let us check this doctrine against their own actions and statements.
In response to questions concerning a U.S. involvement in the coup, the U.S. spokesman gave this response.
"We explicitly told opposition leaders that the United States would
not support a coup. Many of these conversations took place at repeated
numbers of levels throughout the State Department and the NSC, as well
in conversations that newly appointed Ambassador Charles Shapiro and
former Ambassador Hrinak had with officials in Venezuela," said the
Press Secreteary." (Article)
This could only have been said in relation to a discussion about a coup or at least someone informing them of their intention to stage a coup. This is the reason the U.S. government did not refer to what was taking place in Venezuela as a coup. They were prepared to mislead their citizens and the otherwise uninformed global population.
The perpetrators of the Coup by eyewitness account had persons fire on civilians. These people clearly intended to take civilian lives in an attempt to achieve a political objective.
"Whoever was firing aimed directly at the crowd, which was pro-Chavez."(Article)
The United States government, by not notifying the legitimate government of Venezuela of that conversation, was providing sanctuary to terrorists. I am also certain that these terrorists were being fed while being entertained by U.S. officials so therefore the U.S. government knowingly fed terrorist. The time these terrorists spent plotting and being entertained by U.S. officials, the U.S. government was harboring terrorists.
Using President Bush's definition of a terrorist or a terrorist nation condemns the United States of America. His government is therefore just as guilty as the terrorist that inflicted harm on the American people.
A few more thought provoking questions:
Is it now safe to call the United States of America a terrorist state by Bush's definition?
Are we now allowed to form a coalition to bomb America in the ongoing War on terrorism?
Are we to allow the U.S. (by their definition of a terrorist state) to continue amassing weapons of mass destruction, which includes nuclear and biological weapons?
Can we safely call the President of the United States, George bin Bush or is it a case of George bin Bush-whacked.
These are the obvious questions when their rhetoric and actions don't align.
Even those who were not following the events now know from the White House press releases how long ago the plan was hatched. Venezuelans should also examine the role of CNN. It's very dangerous to have a foreign media dominant in one's country.
Venezuelans should not wait for an apology from George Bush as George Bush senior set the tone at a Chicago campaign stop, August 27, 1988:
"I will never apologize for the United States of America. I don't care what the facts are." - -George Bush (1)
These are the things to consider as we wage our own war on hypocrisy, which is at the root of terrorism.
Until then, sensible readers BEWARE, "The U.S. is now humiliated and even more dangerous".
#
This Update shows the depth of the U.S. involvement in Venezuela's failed Coup.
U.S. Agency, IRI, Boasts "We Were The Bridge" In Venezuela Coup by Jared Israel Apr 18, 2002
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