Quote Originally Posted by Ken White View Post
Disagree. Bad technique when dealing with the "ask for a millimeter, take an inch and try for a foot" crowd. You need to call them on it, publicly but calmly and with evidence (which I do not doubt we have aside from things in the media), so they can bluster an make themselves and their ploy obvious to all. To do what you suggest lets them slide. As many times over the past forty plus years we've let errant criminality slide and paid a price, we never seem to learn that is not a good idea.On that we can totally agree -- but we need to be extremely even handed in our public comments. To not do so when most in South and Central America know what is really happening makes us look like we're in the go along and get along mode; not a good position for us.
I'm not suggesting that they shouldn't be called on it, I'm suggesting that the US not be the one to do the calling.

This to me is time to sit down with others in the OAS who are tired of Hugo and his friends, and arrange to have them be the ones to make the public statements. If we have intel, we pass it on and let others present it.

Seems to me that Chavez et al desperately want to get into a confrontation with the US and cast this as Hugo vs America. Nothing could please them more than to have us blustering and drawing lines in the sand for him to step over. That just presents him with credibility and stature. Far better to let other Latin Americans stand up to him. He wants to provoke, it's what he does. Playing that game with him is not going to help us.

I don't want to see the US do or say anything that presents Chavez as a threat. Again, that's what he wants: to be portrayed as a regional counterbalance to America. Comments that help to establish him in that role just play to his ego.