The Bush Junta is not so interested in Cuba as they are in Venezuela and Ecuador. Because Venezuela and Ecuador are members of OPEC and have lots and lots and lots of oil. The trouble is that Venezuela and Ecuador are democracies--really good democracies, actually; democracies with transparent elections (unlike our own); democracies in which the poor majority is, at long last, coming into its rightful power in government.
Leftist democracies, with governments that believe in using the country's resources to benefit the poor. Democracies whose ideas are spreading--with leftist governments elected not only in Venezuela and Ecuador, but also in Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Nicaragua. Democracies who are leading a growing movement for social justice and regional self-determination. Democracies that reject U.S. domination in all its forms--"free trade," neo-liberalism, privatizing resources and services, ruinous World Bank/IMF loans, the murderous, failed U.S. "war on drugs," sweatshop labor, global corporate predator agriculture, etc.
And nothing that the Bush Junta has done has been able to stop this overwhelming social justice/democracy movement--including coup attempts, assassination plots, dirty Bush-CIA plots to "divide and conquer," funding, arming and organizing rightwing paramilitary groups and militias, arming fascist Colombia to the teeth, to cause trouble, drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, big infusions of USAID-NED funds into rightwing political groups, to mount recall elections, to field candidates, to cause riots; arm-twisting and kneecapping to force "free trade" deals (mostly unsuccessful); calling democratically elected presidents "terrorist-lovers," drug traffickers and "dictators." None of it has worked.
So, in the time-honored Bushite tradition of repeating the same mistakes over and over, they are going to divert MORE USAID-NED funds into toppling South American democracies, and are, in addition, this year, going to start Oil War II: South America. It is likely going to start in Bolivia, with a rightwing split-up of the country (splitting off the gas/oil rich eastern provinces from the central government of Evo Morales), and it is going to try its best to draw Venezuela and Ecuador into a hot war--probably over this issue (Bush-instigated civil war in Bolivia), with hot spots, also, on the Venezuelan and Ecuadoran borders with Colombia (where shots have already been fired, in the recent U.S.-Colombia bombing/incursion against Ecuador).
The Bushites are panicked--for many reasons. They have been denied the Iranian oil fields (probably mostly by China). They are losing control in Iraq. The moment U.S. forces leave, the Iraqis are going to rip up the oil contracts and write new ones, more along the lines of those in Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia (key resources nationalized, with the lion's share of the profits benefiting the people). The Bushites' name is mud, everywhere. Their only cache is violent force, paid for by us. And we are getting sick and tired of paying for it. And in fact
cannot continue paying for it. So they are going to do one last push--with our non-existent money--to get huge infusions of cash into completely phony, international 'democracy' groups, to
overturn democracy in South America, where it is flourishing; to use U.S. forces in South America in support of serious destabilizations (such as in Bolivia); and to use their well-armed Colombian tool ($5.5 BILLION of U.S. military aid) militarily--to get the thing started, while Bush is still in office. But it will not be finished this year. It will go on--even if, say, Obama can be elected (whose policies on this are the least bad). The current USAID-NED cash infusions will last a while, to sustain fascist coup groups ('democracy' groups--heh, heh), and Rumsfeld & co. (Rumsfeld is orchestrating this war, too*) have billions of dollars stashed around the world, stolen from us in Iraq, and U.S.-taxpayer developed mercenaries like Blackwater, to continue the South American oil war for quite some time--years.
They've been using USAID/NED funds for their previous destabilization and toppling attempts--but it has not been sufficient to their purpose. So now they are going to load all the anti-Castro Miami Cuban money into the anti-democracy pot, for the big push.
I have to say, I'm not crying for the anti-Castro Miami Cubans. They are only getting what they deserve--shafted by the Bushites. And I think Rumsfeld, Exxon Mobil & co. are not going to win, in South America. The leftist democracy movement is just too big, as is the regional self-determination movement (even among the center-right governments of Central America, and the two center-right governments left in South America--Peru and Paraguay--both with big leftist movements, that will likely win Paraguay this year, and Peru soon afterward). Regional self-determination is a self-preservation issue--also a Latin American pride and sovereignty issue. The truth is that Latin America (as a whole) would be a powerhouse trade bloc, if it pulls together--as South America has been doing. This is why a center-right government like Paraguay joined the Bank of the South (a Chavez-inspired project). It's good for Paraguay. It's good for the region. The Bushites two-pronged plan--for more massive interference in democratic processes (with more USAID-NED funds), and military distabilization actions--will fail, in my opinion. They may cause a lot of trouble, but they will fail. And their final gift to us will be a permanent divide in our own hemisphere, with southern half not wanting much to do with us for a couple of centuries.
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"The Smart Way to Beat Tyrants Like Chávez," by Donald Rumsfeld, 12/1/07http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/30/AR2007113001800.html(He urges economic warfare against Venezuela and others, via a "free trade" deal with fascist Colombia (--and, as we have learned, via actions like Exxon Mobil's, trying to freeze $12 billion in Venezuela's assets); and, "swift action" by the U.S. in support of "friends and allies" in South America (fascist thugs planning coups). "Swift" military "action" before Bush leaves office, is my guess. And my other guess is that we will see this first in Bolivia, when the white separatists, who want to control the gas/oil-rich provinces, declare their "independence" this May and ask for U.S. support. We may then see a rightwing "anti-war" movement in Venezuela and Ecuador, funded by the USAID-NED, to prevent those governments from aiding their ally, Evo Morales, and to prevent other allies, such as Brazil and Argentina, from stopping the split up of Bolivia. Rumsfeld may thus gain a second fascist enclave, at the southern end of the Bolivarian alliance--in addition to Colombia in north.)