Chavez, Correa Rattle Sabers against Colombia

The armed forces of Colombia attacked a guerrilla outpost of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia [FARC] against whom they have been fighting for decades. They crossed the border into Ecuador to kill 17 including Luis Edgar Devia, one of the top guerrillas. In response, Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez ordered tanks, planes and thousands of troops to the Venezuelan-Colombian border. Ecuador’s president Rafael Correa also mobilized troops and kicked out the Colombian ambassador. The true colors of these leaders are showing.

President Correa complained that this was “the worst aggression Ecuador has suffered on the part of Colombia” – this would not include the Ecuadorian-Colombian War of 1863 because Ecuador was the aggressor then. He added, “They were bombed and massacred while they slept, using pinpoint technology that found them at night, in the jungle, for sure with the collaboration of foreign powers.” Maybe, but to complain that they were attacked unfairly rather misses the point of counterinsurgency and plain old-fashioned war.

On his nationally televised TV show, President Chavez ordered, “Move 10 battalions to the Colombian frontier immediately, tank battalions, military aviation. We are not going to permit the North American empire, which is the ruler, to allow his lapdog, President Uribe and the Colombian oligarchy, to divide or weaken us. We will not permit it.”

Meanwhile, the Uribe regime in Colombia claims to have evidence of links between FARC group and Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa, data on laptops captured a week or so ago. Maybe, and maybe not. What is true that that Mr. Uribe gladly takes US military aid, making Colombia the third largest recipient of such aid on the planet. Perhaps he is not a lapdog, but he is certainly capable of being a proxy.

The Colombian regime has put itself in a pickle here, and the Venezuelan and Ecuadorian governments appear blind to the trouble they are about to cause themselves. There is nothing Mr. Bush would like more than a chance to poke Mr. Chavez and his pals in the eye before he leaves office. He is being given a golden opportunity here. Deep breaths all around would be useful before someone does something really stupid.

© Copyright 2008 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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