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May 08, 2006

How the Cold War Still Rages

And what to do about it in our own back yard

 

 

Another domino seems to be falling in South America. Last Monday May 1st on the Communist holiday of May Day Bolivian military seized gas fields in what the President of that country plans to be the first of a policy of nationalizing the commanding heights of industry in his country.

 

The country’s president Evo Morales seems to want to imitate his good friends Hugo Chávez of Venezuela and Fidel Castro of Cuba; and all three want to get a little closer to their natural allies China and Iran. But so do Brazil, Panama and others in Central and South America; and nearly every other country in the region has a strong Leftist movement of some fashion taking place, and for many it’s just a matter of time until they take the reins of power.

 

"It is only a matter of time before Chávez stops selling oil to the US and begins selling it to ally China; there is nothing we can do about this."

 

 

20 years ago, we thought we had won the Cold War. Ronald Reagan's wise policies brought us victories many of us hadn't dared to imagine. We had defeated the Soviet Union - we had beaten the Evil Empire; we had won an inexplicably huge battle. The elation of the Berlin Wall falling down just two years after president Reagan had called on Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear it down left us drunk on the sweet taste of victory and freedom, as democracies, one by one, sprang up like spring flowers across formerly shadowy places behind the iron curtain. Now the time was ripe to focus our battle for freedom on China, Africa, and South America, as well as the Middle East. But something happened: we began celebrating before our job was finished and elements of our adversaries were permitted to flourish, ironically, as in no time in Cold War history.

 

Right now, these elements are working with virtual impunity, working steadily on their plan to harm America. Brazil is said to be seeking help from Iran and Pakistan in starting a nuclear program; it’s also getting help from China. Imagine an entire continent acting as a Chinese communist satellite to our south, then imagine that continent armed with nuclear weapons or other types of WMD. Last, imagine tens of thousands of sympathizers and operatives already in place in the United States, thanks to our porous border. I submit to you that is not a paradigm we want to pursue, but are well on the way of achieving.

 

But such direct confrontation is only a part of the threat. Economically pulling the rug out from under an ill-prepared US economy could have catastrophic effects; effects amplified if the economy must finance a war footing.

 

It is only a matter of time before Chávez stops selling oil to the US and begins selling it to ally China; there is nothing we can do about this. Instead, we need to begin looking at how we are going to end this relationship on our terms rather than theirs, along with seeking to create measures to make it difficult to impossible for a Caracas-Beijing oil alliance (or any other) to truly develop. We also need to begin finding ways to put pressure inward on Chávez’ regime, along with other notable South American allies of his, while also providing assistance material and information to US-friendly parties. 

 

Since the days of Reagan came to a close we have steadily moved away from a proactive anti-Communist foreign policy with only half the work completed. I think this is mainly because there has been the false assumption that because the Soviet Union fell, communism did not exist any longer as a substantial international threat; however, nothing today could be farther from the truth. In fact, just as in previous times, communist regimes are working hand-in-hand with international terrorist organizations and rogue terrorist states like Iran to extend, amplify and solidify their power on the world stage.

 

In point of fact, worldwide communist tactics have not changed, but we have.

 

Failing to see the threat of this unholy alliance between communist states, radical Islamic states, along with the terrorist and rebel groups who by far have proven to be the aforementioned’s armies of choice, puts us in mortal danger.

 

Indeed, the mortal danger exists for us if we do not identify the very roots of contemporary global destabilization and begin to honestly address them, as Reagan did.

 

To be in Cold War denial is far more dangerous than being aware that you are in a Cold War. So it’s important that our next president has the prescient knowledge seen in those of good character who are well-informed and willing to set aside trifles to tend to the big picture.

 

"We must also use our economic and diplomatic power to institute property reform in as many of those countries as possible."

 

 

Such tending should include a few of the following:

 

A more aggressive campaign in South and Central American countries to help locals realize we are friends to them.

 

This coincides with a policy to reign in unethical business practices that take advantage of workers in developing countries and force them to work inhumane hours under inhumane conditions.

 

We must also use our economic and diplomatic power to institute property reform in as many of those countries as possible. At present, most of these countries do not accurately keep records of property ownership. This means that only the rich who can afford to pay bribes are able to keep land and develop business interests, while they steal land from peasants who cannot prove their ownership. This is the real culture of corruption and as long as it exists, there can be no significant expansion of a middle class in these countries, and as a result nor can there be true democratic reform, stability and permanent prosperity. If we take care of this issue, it will also go far to reduce the mass migrations across the continent, not to mention the need to constantly bail out defaulting economies, which costs the US taxpayer an unbelievable sum.

 

Another important step is to then establish good relations with friendly countries from which we can isolate and begin to dismantle neighboring hostile regimes, following with the steps already outlined above.

 

Additionally, we must make it clear to China, Iran, Pakistan, and others courting the region that their presence in this hemisphere is not welcome, follow that with the appropriate steps to insure this policy is enforced.

 

Finally, we need to get the word out. This partly is related to an effective "friendship program" with countries not under the grip of hostile regimes. But this would also include broadcasting radio and TV into every part of South and Central America with programming that not only counters the spin coming from hostile ideologues, but programming that offers useful information such as financial advice, personal care, general educational programming, and offers religious programming. Naturally, this step has to be done in the right way, but this small piece together with the other pieces would provide an invaluable service in helping the people rise out of the enslaving cycle of poverty and corruption that makes them so vulnerable to political vultures who want to use them for their own violent ends; and so prevent them from becoming part of the cancerous threat to liberal democracies including the United States.

 

We have been asleep to what has been going on right under our noses for almost 20 years. During this time, the other side has not gone away, but has continued to build support, partly due to our neglect on several fronts. We cannot afford to ignore South and Central America any longer. But we must understand the problem’s economic and ideological roots in order to truly fix it and avoid merely putting Band-Aids on it. As it’s plain to see, the bleeding is only growing worse, so it is imperative that we act earnestly and in good speed to avoid that which we fought so hard to prevent for close to half a century: a tragic scenario of incredible proportions.

 

 

Posted by Martin at May 8, 2006 12:46 AM

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