Destabilizing Venezuela Continues Stephen Lendman
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A previous article discussed multiple Obama regime change fronts. His rogue agenda exceeds the worst of his predecessors. He heads a homeland police state apparatus. He's waging war on humanity. He's ravaging one country after another. He wants independent governments in Syria, Iran, Ukraine and Venezuela toppled. He's got other targets in mind. It's hard keeping track of his lawlessness. He's got multiple initiatives ongoing at the same time. Tens of billions of taxpayer dollars fund efforts to destabilize governments en route to toppling them. Vital homeland needs go begging. Obama wants the same neoliberal harshness imposed domestically force-fed globally. He wants independent governments replaced. He wants pro-Western puppet regimes replacing them. He wants unchallenged global dominance. He wants control over world resources. He wants one nation after another plundered for profit. Venezuela is a prime target. It's oil reserves are the world's largest. Bolivarian fairness represents a threat of a good example. Fifteen years of failing to crush it hasn't deterred Washington's viciousness. Destabilizing Venezuela is longstanding. Current US-funded/manipulated street violence perhaps reflects upping the stakes. Syrian violence is out-of-control. So is Ukraine's. Perhaps Obama plans turning Venezuela into a similar battleground. Expect stiff resistance if he tries. Venezuela chairs the Mercosur trade alliance. Its other member countries include Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. They issued a joint statement headlining "Mercosur condemns violence in Venezuela and calls for dialogue." Its member states "repudiate all kind(s) of violence and intolerance which pretends to attack democracy and its institutions, whatever its origin..." They reiterate their "strong commitment with the full exercise of democratic institutions, and in that framework rejects the criminal actions from violent groups that want to disseminate intolerance and hatred as an instrument of political struggle in the Bolivarian republic of Venezuela." They reject "all rupture threats against the democratic order constituted on the legitimacy of universal ballot and reiterate their strong position in defense and preservation of the democratic institutions, as indicated in the 1998 Ushuaia Protocol on Mercosur democratic commitment." They call on all sides to dialogue democratically according to rule of law principles as "promoted by President Nicolas Maduro..." They extended condolences to families of slain victims. They fullly trust Venezuela's government "will not rest in its efforts to keep the peace and full guarantees for all citizens." Venezuelan Foreign Minister Elias Jaua said: "Faced with the aggression of fascist groups, (Venezuela) received the widest solidarity of countries around the world." Twenty nations as well as 156 social movements and political parties expressed solidarity with Maduro and Venezuela's people. They did so against violence-stoking destabilizing elements. Jaua said supportive governments as well as social movements and parties spoke "in favor of democracy, stability and peace to the Venezuelan people." He expressed "full solidarity with the Bolivarian Revolution and its support for the democratic way (in lieu of) new imperialist aggression." "The national and international community has witnessed how President Nicolas Maduro met with all sectors, mayors, governors and parliamentarians to discuss national problems, fighting the economic war, (and) productive economic development." "No one can deny that the Bolivarian government is talking." No one can deny its popular support. Since 1998, Bolivarianism won 18 of 19 elections. They're the world's most free, open and fair. They mock America's sham process. People get the best democracy money can buy. Venezuelans get the real thing. It's constitutionally mandated. Government officials take rule of law principles seriously. US ones trash them with impunity. It shows in imperial ruthlessness. It's evident in harsh police state crackdowns. Freedoms are eroding in plain sight. Democracy is a figure of speech. Washington wants its ways force-fed on world governments. It wants them subservient to US interests. It wants planet earth colonized for profit. It wants ordinary people exploited as serfs. Economist Mark Weisbrot asked "(w)hen is it considered legitimate to try to overthrow a democratically-elected government?" Whenever Washington says so. It's longstanding US policy. Strategies include assassinating foreign leaders, toppling them by coup d'etat, or waging aggressive wars to do it. Rogue states operate this way. America is by far the worst. Previous articles asked if humanity can survive Obama's final three years in office. It's very much up for grabs. Roger Noreiga is a former neocon US assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs. He's a world class scoundrel. He's an unindicted war criminal. He's been involved in Washington's Latin American agenda since the 1980s. He aided Reagan's Contra wars. He's militantly hostile to Cuba. He helped force Haiti's Aristide from office. He wants neoliberal harshness replacing Bolivarianism. He wants Venezuela's resources stolen. On February 18, he headlined an article "For Venezuelan Regime, the Party's Over." Wishing won't make it so. Noreiga was long ago discredited. Popular support sustains Maduro. Venezuelans cherish Bolivarianism too much. They'll go all out to preserve it. It's too precious to lose. Americans can't imagine benefits Venezuelans get. They include free healthcare, education to the highest levels, subsidized housing and food, and much more. Budgeting prioritizes public needs. Social justice is fundamental policy. It's constitutionally mandated. Venezuela's economy serves all its people. It does so responsibly. America increasingly marginalizes its least advantaged. Wealth, power and privilege alone matter. Policy initiatives prove what's too ugly to hide. Noreiga claims Maduro is "fighting a losing battle for survival." He claims Chavez's " 'Bolivarian revolution' will outlive him by about a year." Since Chavez took office in February 1999, doomsayers made similar predictions. Fifteen successful years proved them wrong. Noreiga is a neocon extremist. He lied claiming Maduro "use(d) brute force against peaceful demonstrators." His "condition is terminal," he said. A previous discussed Venezuela's economic strength. It's polar opposite what Noreiga claims. Economic collapse predictions proved wrong. They deny reality. Noreiga saying otherwise doesn't make it so. Numbers he cites are fake. Truth-telling discredits him. Lying deceives only himself and uninformed readers. Why they waste time on him, they'll have to explain. Venezuela is an emerging economy. America is a declining one. Noreiga claims "Maduro's second major crisis involves the loss of support within the country's armed forces." Based on what evidence he didn't say. Rank and file military personnel support Bolivarianism. So do middle-ranking officers. Perhaps most higher-ranking ones. In April 2002, they and people power aborted Washington's two-day coup. They restored Chavez to office. It was a notable show of support. Maduro retains most of it. Bolivarianism enjoys popular support. Venezuelans won't sacrifice what's too precious to lose. They'll struggle to keep hard won benefits. They won't let fascist extremists steal them. Noreiga claiming military support for Chavez "crumbling" since his death doesn't wash. He ludicrously claims Cuba runs Venezuela's government. Throughout Chavez's tenure, the same nonsensical assertions were made. They rang hollow earlier. They do so now. So does Noreiga claiming "Maduro's faltering regime unleashes gangs who empty pistols into peaceful crowds." Washington bears full responsibility for ongoing street violence. CIA elements are involved. So are State Department funded groups. America failed to topple Chavez. It killed him instead. It infected him with incurable cancer-causing substances. It wants Maduro toppled. Maybe it wants him dead. Noreiga wants Bolivarianism destroyed. He wants fascist extremism replacing it. He wants Venezuelans stripped of vital benefits. "The international community can help the Venezuelan people by prosecuting Maduro and the narcomilitares for their crimes and returning their ill-gotten assets to support the reconstruction of a country that has been through hell and back," he claims. It's hard imagining anyone but fools and supportive corporate scoundrels buy his rubbish. It's polar opposite reality. Why any publisher features it, they'll have to explain. Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book is titled "Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity." http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanII.html Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network. It airs Fridays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening. http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour |
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