Thread: Chavez Dares US to Cut Diplomatic Ties

Any guesses when war breaks out between Venezuela and its neighbors? Chavez has been giving refuge to narco-terrorists on his side of the border for some time now.

Chavez Dares US to Cut Diplomatic Ties

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez dared the United States to expel his ambassador or cut off diplomatic ties in retaliation for his rejection of Washington's choice for ambassador to Caracas.

Tensions have been growing over Chavez's refusal to accept American diplomat Larry Palmer and also over U.S. criticisms of a legislative offensive by the president's congressional allies. Lawmakers have granted Chavez expanded powers to enact laws by decree for the next year and a half, a change that opponents condemn as antidemocratic.

Chavez has said he will not accept Palmer to be ambassador due to comments he made earlier this year suggesting that morale is low in Venezuela's military and that he is concerned Colombian rebels are finding refuge in Venezuela.

Actually we do. The difference is when do we expend American blood and treasure on it? The dividing line is "What is in our nation's best interests?" Obviously there are some ideological differences between the major political groups on this issue and, of course, the occasional political fuck up such as LBJ ramping up Viet Nam or Dubya invading Iraq.

For example, I fully supported attacking Afghanistan and continue to support resolving the issues there until the job is done. However, I was completely against the unilateralist invasion of Iraq from the day the subject was broached back around 2002. Invading Iraq was not in our nation's best interests.

Originally Posted by Divine Wind

Actually we do. The difference is when do we expend American blood and treasure on it? The dividing line is "What is in our nation's best interests?" Obviously there are some ideological differences between the major political groups on this issue and, of course, the occasional political fuck up such as LBJ ramping up Viet Nam or Dubya invading Iraq.

For example, I fully supported attacking Afghanistan and continue to support resolving the issues there until the job is done. However, I was completely against the unilateralist invasion of Iraq from the day the subject was broached back around 2002. Invading Iraq was not in our nation's best interests.

Did you support the war we waged in Nicaragua?

Fighting Marxism in Nicaragua and their Soviet supporters was part of the Cold War. It was not in our nation's best interests for Nicaragua to build up an attack force capable of waging war against its neighbors.

U.S. WARNS SOVIET IT WON'T TOLERATE MIG'S IN NICARAGUA - NYTimes.com

Testing Reagan: Soviet MiGs in Nicaragua | The Heritage Foundation

Originally Posted by Divine Wind

Fighting Marxism in Nicaragua and their Soviet supporters was part of the Cold War. It was not in our nation's best interests for Nicaragua to build up an attack force capable of waging war against its neighbors.

But it wasn't authorized by Congress.

Originally Posted by TennesseeRain

But it wasn't authorized by Congress.

That's because the Democrat "anti-Reagan" crowd was still stung from supporting Viet Nam for 10 years.

IIRC, Congress did authorize several actions, just not supporting the Contras. Again, I think that was more a 1980s version of the "Just say NO" party than it was about national security.

Originally Posted by Divine Wind

That's because the Democrat "anti-Reagan" crowd was still stung from supporting Viet Nam for 10 years.

IIRC, Congress did authorize several actions, just not supporting the Contras. Again, I think that was more a 1980s version of the "Just say NO" party than it was about national security.

It's because the people of this country would never have supported such a war because of the result in Viet Nam. That shouldn't mean that a war should be waged without congressional approval.

Correct. Violating the law, even for a good thing, is a bad example for any leader to set.