and another thing i oppose chavez in everyway but the referendum was not rigged there is alot of poor people in my country who stupidly beleive in him and they are unfourtunetly the majority.You americans are so insensible, ever thought about the damage and the lives you destroy each time you drop a bomb you become the one thing you hate the most, terrorists, trying to intimidate people through brute force.

ok lets hear from a venezuelan, me, you see that is the problem with you americans, you think you can go and just get presidents and prime ministers "taken care of" the biggest murderers have always been american presidents, there is no doubt about it. In Iraq has probably died more people because of the war than they probably would have with saddam, so witch is the greatest evil you ask?? well think about it, i hate terrorists of all kind and its true that chavez is dragging our country to the dirt, but i preferre that a venezuelan dirt bag draging us to the dirt than an american one

It is clear that many contributers here have missed many details. I want to start by saying that in the US there is a 50% literacy problem. It seems that half the country read the electoral ballots wrong when they were electing a presidential candidate the second time around. AS if the first year was such a prosperous one to begin with, Or was it the republican way of fixing and rigging the elections in thier favor at whatever cost to the nation?.. Next point is that Bush should be deemed a criminal,liar a terrorist himself for installing so much fear into the American psyche and a monkey with a magic wand could do a better job of being president then he has in all his tenure up to now. He has brainwashed all of you into seeing the worlds problems through his eyes not to mention that your media outlets are probably on the republicans payroll to top. As for interferring with foreign politics..well its the american way!! througout history America has done its will against all who oppose so why stop now?.

The problem with chavez is that hes getting under the republican skin and doin a good job at it becuase look at all the attention he's causing. No better publicity then to have America against you. Chavez is a moron and all of latin America sees that. Latin americans are not stupid they see what is going on and probably cannot wait until bush flips his lid and decides to send a stealth bomber to drop a little present on Chavez's front lawn. Rest assured that Chavez is a real pest but bush is no angel eighter at least i prefer bush to stand out as a clear winner becuase at least the opposing political party will keep a close eye on him. Chavez is the law in Venezuela and no one will stand in his way. Not even a referendum and rigged at that.
What chavez has done for the poor in Venezuela is commendable however lets see his alterior motive for what he does, which is to get brownie points from the poor. To get them into his pocket so he can continue his popularity as a good ruler. If you didn't have anything and some guy comes along giving you food,health,land would you not jump at it,I would however i would have sold my soul to the devil. This is what he has done. So many of the poor see him as a fair President/dictator.
As for his military power which don't compare to the scale of power the US has is a pea shooter in comparisons however the problem is the instability he will cause in latin america becuase then all the other latin american countries will feel the need to arm themselves against this growing military threat. On many numerous occasions Chavez has tried to start problems with other latin american countries and what he is looking for is to fight. I say give it to him and give it to him good, the sad point in this is that many innocent people will die.
To close i just want to respond to GruntMarine'66. Colombia is an ally of the US and have been so for many years and yes we do have Many Fine exports, bananas emeralds, great looking women and indeed Coca which you so pointed out but look at the problem . If there was no demand for it there would not be a supply. The fight begins within and americans are constanly trying to stop it from entering how about some more attention to rehab. Now that something you never see on cnn or any other media outlets. My suggestion to america is to stick to a plan and see it through to its completion. Your spreading yourself thin and your weak points are starting to show..

William M. Arkin is a closeted homosexual!

WTF is WRONG with you Mericans ???????
All my life, (and I'm 55) I've never heard nothing but how the U.S. continuosly pushes people around all over the World to do their bidding, and if they are opposed or regected, the bombs begin to drop.
Venezuela, DOES NOT BELONG TO THE U.S. what goes on within Venezuela id VENEZUEAL'S BUSINESS, simple as that.

What would happen, if other countries sought to intervene in American affairs as the U.S. does in other's affairs ???????

Bloody hypocrites the lot of you.

The woman posting under the name "Mike" betrays the symptoms of a typical right-wing pseudo-intellectual who forgets the roots of her own party. As I recall, the conspiracy theorist who tried to out me by warning you sheeps against the "military-industrial complex" was, sadly, one of our own Republicans, and a president, no less. Let's be clear - the pawn with the 8-year term limit is not the one running my empire. And you, "Mike," need to go back to driving your kids to soccer games and stop wasting everyone's time with your weak disparagements.

Un-be-lievable.

If most of you ever got up off your couch and actively pursued learning about any of the subject matter relating to what's covered in this story. You be embarrassed over how so many of the comments here give the impression that the commenter is somehow divorced from reality. The exceptions being the commenter from Venezuela and who ever left the novella detailing some of Venezuela's tragic realities
Much of what is being posted here follows a common theme - which is itself based upon a theme.. Not reality. That being empire. Empire as it pertains to the US is a political theme originally intended to refer to the actions and effects of both public and private US interests world wide. A kind of lazy way to define something that had yet been properly defined and given its own unique terminology. Unfortunately the word empire has been used so much, repeated so often, in so many different and mostly incorrect contexts that its now used and referred to in a way that would imply we are pursuing or have something in common with the colonial empires of old. This is so flat out not the case or even possible as to be laughable. Furthermore - any halfwit with remedial reading skills could read up on the subject and soon discover that American society and civic order is in no way set up or conducive to pursuing or supporting any thing remotely resembling an actual empire. Never mind the political process that puts a maximum 8-year life span on any charitable or nefarious designs the party in power might have in mind.
Seen in that light...Is there any comment more vacant than "Bush's war for empire.."? Yeah, ok. And when his term is up and the successor is his political opposite - we spend the next 8 years giving it back..right? Or let me guess.. Bush runs it and steals everything from his ranch in Texas. Or was that Cheney's ranch I Wyoming.. Or was that the head offices of Halliburton or.. Need I continue?
Which leads me to the other leg this epic ignorance stands upon. The conspiracy and the conspiratorial frame of mind. Believing such doesn't give you insight into things others refuse to see - Sorry. Accepting and using conspiratorial reasoning to explain events is like hanging a neon sign above your head that reads "Hi! I'm Absolutely Clueless!!" Conspiracy theories evolve from people either lacking the knowledge or ability necessary to understand the world around them. It's a process where gaps in a persons understanding are filled with embellishments of a subjective nature. It's taking an assumption to the lunatic fringe.

The final car in this intellectual train wreck is the way so many perceive world events and define them down to being the product of individual personalities. Bush this. Chavez that. As if the events these people involved themselves with occurred in a vacuum. Instead of being the product of a confluence of events set in motion by the actions of countless numbers of people. Including ourselves.
Which, I imagine, goes to the root cause behind why so many willfully pull the blinders on and personalize global events. Doing so avoids having to ask oneself what their own contribution to the situation might have been. Why step up, take responsibility and consider making the real changes (that start with yourself) that could lead to real solutions. When you can "blame Bush" and go on doing whatever it is you"ve always done. Which may have included demanding change - but let's be real - it's always in the context of someone else changing to be more like you..

How "progressive".

And people complain that the political process is broken... Yeah it is. Wanna see which part needs fixing? Go look in a mirror.

M

Bush is a criminal, perhaps not as Harry S Truman, but he is at least more stupid.

The US as well as other countries always develops contingency plans. This is nothing new. We even had one for Iraq if you can believe it. This story causes nothing but more finger pointing.

Look at the Cubin missle crisis - Castro literally told Russia to nuke us during this time. Even after Russia returned home, we did nothing. Castro only proved and is still proving to be a BIG MOUTH. People get tired of listening to big mouths like Chavez. So what that Ven. is the 5th leading country of oil exports. We have already learned hard lessons from relying on exports in the oil industry and we as a nation are moving forward with plans for alternative options. I would go as far to say that oil in the near future will be like "coal" of our past.

Actually, we're stuck between a rock and a hard place - in fact a really stubborn and stupid rock and an incredibly smart but evil hard place!
Chavez cheated his way into power and is destroying Venezuela. No doubt about that. However, I hate Bush for going into Iraq, etc. So which side am I on? Easy. We MUST get Chavez out of power. Human rights; human lives are much more important than ideology. I'll agree with the Conservative point here only because Chavez needs to be taken care of ASAP. Get him out of power before he takes over the world - seriously.

Mr Arkin appears to be assuming that what he is reporting is true, but without any real evidence to support him. He says he knows the name of "the" document, when in reality he simply knows the the name of "a" document ("The FY08-13 POM") that is used by the DOD, but I don't see any credible evidence that he actually has a copy of the document. This leads me to believe he heard a rumor and is determined to parrot the rumor with an air of expertise he clearly lacks.

My concern again focuses on the ignorance of so many posters here who so blindly are believing the Venezuelan propaganda that, if it were coming from the US government, they would wisely examine skeptically. Chavez's claims to be a defender of the poor are no more true than those of Fidel or Mugabbe. He has created many missions that make him appear to take care of the poor, but American readers should dig deeper.

The subsidized food programs sound fantastic to anyone who wants to help the poor. Unfortunately, Chavez has not subsidized the food by buying from Venezuelan suppliers and then redistributing it cheaply to the poor. No, he has contrarily set artificially low prices that put local producers out of business. He then imported millions of tons of food from other countries (Argentina, Brazil, etc), and created shops that sell this cheap imported food right next to local shops. This tactic has put local agrarian producers and local shop owners out of business, cost Venezuela millions of dollars. Imagine if Bush used US Tax dollars to buy Brazilian orange juice, sugar, foreign beef, etc., then donated the goods to Wal Mart and set unrealistic prices everywhere else. Liberals in this country would be rioting.

Chavez is famous for his "agrarian reform." Interesting that traditionally leftist farmer unions oppose Chavez and have declared that all the agrarian reform that was accomplished over the past 20 years has been destroyed. Why? Because although the Venezuelan government owns tens of millions of hectares of unused land, the "war on latifundios" is actually an institutionalized theft of developed farm land that is distributed to Chavez supporters. It is communist latifundismo. Here's how it works: When the government set the artificially low fixed price for agrarian goods, and imported goods from abroad, local growers could not sell their products at those prices or faced losses (afterall, they had invested in fertilizers, fuel, and other expenses). After several years of this, it made no sense to sow crops in some areas. So the government declared that unused land would be taken. They swoop in, take the farms, give huge swaths to their local supporters, give some small allotments to the poor tomake it look good, and expropriate other chunks that will be new government land (in one case thousands of acres will be a new military training area near the Colombian border).

In the case of foreign investors, the Heinz factory was stolen from the owners and "given to the workers." The method applied was simple. The Heinz plant had given tomato seed, fertilizer, and other support to local growers under the condition that they would sell their tomatoes at a stated price. The growers took the materials, grew their tomatoes, then violated the contract and sold their tomatoes to other producers or foreign buyers, leaving Heinz without product with which to make ketchup. The government then said thathe plant was "idle", sent in the military, took the plant, and "gave" it to the workers. These schemes are actually created by the Chavez government as ways of making instituionalized theft appear to be legal.

I give these as but a few examples of how the chavez regime is not what most American liberals thinks it is.

About Venezuela being a threat, books could (and certainly will) be written on this subject. The published Bolivarian goals of uniting all of South America under a new "socialist" model like that of Cuba should be enough to make any reasonable individual pause. Flush with hundreds of billions of dollars of revenue, Chavez has the means to build an incredible arsenal and support many insurgent forces. His support for the FARC is very well documented, he himself has made so many public statements that denying it is futile. Colombian military has captured FARC with Venezuelan arms, they have observed FARC crossing the border and returning to bases within Venezuela, and Venezuelan military aircraft have provided air support to the FARC. Captured computers have revealed the detailed spy networks that sent information to Caracas about Colombian plans of combatting the FARC. Chavez has demonstrated that he has direct and influential contact with FARC leaders in order to free kidnap victims. He has also supported the ELN, the Basque ETA, and helped organize reunions at which other terrorist groups such as the Sendero Luminoso were present. Military officers that defected have revealed his plans to train FARC and other insurgent groups. All of this leads analysts to believe that he plans on using Venezuelan territory as a launching pad for groups into other nations. He has already placed massive orders for AK-47 rifles (100,000 for a standing army of around 40,000), and has stated that he will create a 200,000 standing 'militia' (violating the Venezuelan constitution, by the way) that will be given the old FAL rifles as arms.

His oil money has been used to bribe government and military officials not only in Venezuela but in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Brazil. By buying national debts (argentina and Ecuador), as well as by supplying cheap oil (with conditions), he has gained control of the leaders of many small nations, who don't dare stand up to him, because he could destroy their economies. He and Castro have sent teams of trained "activists" armed with massive amounts of cash into Bolivia, Ecuador, and other nations in order to keep street protests going until weak governments crumble under the pressure. There are former Bolivian and Ecuatorian presidents who are complaining about this destabilizing danger.

Chavez therefore stands poised to topple governments, arm radical groups, throw economies into tailspins, and perhaps spark civil wars across the continent. Today this may sound to some of you like absurd "doomsday" scenarios, but history shows us that in every case where a tyrant like Pol Pot, Mugabbe, Hussein, Castro, or Hitler was gaining power, the majority of peaceful people simply could not believe that a threat was imminent.

No one wants the US to invade Venezuela. But Venezuela is already violating the sovereinty of many of its neighbors, is putting economic advances at risk, is weakening democracies across the region, and as Chavez's megalomania grows, his sense of invencibility and self righteousness may turn him into another of the worlds most hated dictators.

Even then, I'm sure leftists will find a way of blaming the US.

Hey: If Reagan could defeat that menacing rogue state Grenada and then go on to bomb the poor district of Panama City, Venezuela should be a snap!

US foreign policy has been disasterous since the end of the Marshall Plan. How many countries have been invaded or covertly threatened by the US over the last 45 years? Would you believe 50 plus or minus. Do you really need 800 military bases located all over the world? No wonder there isn't any money left over to give medical and health benefits to all of your citizens. your military industrial complex is sucking you dry! If the citizens of Venezuela decide to vote for Chavez that is their perogative and the US should have nothing to say about it. End of story.

http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=24121

In which Venezuela makes friends with Russia, China and Iran.
They have already transferred their reserves to euros.

There are 2 different topics getting mixed here. One of them is the Venezuelan "President" politics and way of handling Venezuela, and the other is the U.S. Stand-point towards Venezuelan politics.

Regardless of how much dis-like I may have for Chavez's "politics", still that does not provide for a reason for the U.S. to invade Venezuela. As far as the "contingency" plans in terms of economic and oil independence from Venezuela, I think that is an appropriate step-of-action, just like the Venezuelan govt is doing with U.S. Based business in Venezuela.

I would like to respond to 'nallcando'. Hey why not Iceland? Better yet, Greenland. That sure would make US popular. As for Venezuela -- you should see their naval capabilities. Three storied 'cruisers' and Hughes commuter helicopters.

"Lack of preparedness is Rumsfeld's nightmare."

Excuse me? How prepared was Mr. Rumsfeld for the aftermath of the invasion? OOOPS.

"Rumsfeld is equally opportunistic, carrying out his duty and unflinchingly and unapologetically seeing the world in the way that he does"

And by that you mean what? How DOES Mr. Rumsfeld see the world?
Well, here he is on Iraq: "I can't tell you if the use of force in Iraq today will last five days, five weeks or five months, but it won't last any longer than that."
And Larry Wilkerson says the man is "quite mad". Even Nixon thought the guy was a paranoid.

I gotta agree with Jose. Chavez will be overthrown if he pisses off the people of Venezuela. They don't need the US unless Chavez begins killing his own people, and even then we should only help them help themselves.

As for Bush, it is looking like everything he has done is catching up with the American people. I have no idea why it took so long for his poll numbers to drop to where they are. Maybe the Rove smokescreens held it back for a while, but some Americans should be thinking how they won't make that mistake again at election time.

Bush can be stopped, next year at the polls by voting out his republican support in the house and senate. It happened here in my state of Maryland, when the popular congresswoman Connie Morella was voted out in 2002 because she supported Bush, not because she was a bad representative, just the opposite in fact. Want to do something positive, target your local republican for defeat in the next election and help a good non-republican opponent to replace him/her. A non-republican congress will change things considerably for the better by holding back the Bush administation and its neo-con/evangelical base.

Interesting how some people are so concerned about "democracy and human rights" in Venezuela but they didn't care at all when the former Venezuelan government's army fired into crowds of protesters and killed hundreds of people. Like usual, whenever a nation begins to act independently of the U.S. and Western Europe, it becomes a "dictatorship" and "violator of human rights."

What Can I say. As a citizen of a Former USSR controled state I can see very clearly the truth. An it is simple. The only difference between the USSR and the USA is the colour of the star on their tanks. They were the same and that is why they hated each other. The USA is walking down the path the USSR took. You should know already where it leads to.

If any of these draft dodging NeoCon Nazis in this administration and this Blog had served a day in Combat or had 1 of their sons/daughters or grandkids in Iraq for the multiple tours our Armed Forces are now doing, I JUST might listen to their stupid, closeminded comments on the 'whys' we should have contingency plans for Venezuela. Why not Colombia, w/FARC and their Right Wing guerilla Narco-Terrorist counterparts as a target for Armed Contingency plans. I guess they're not, the Columbians, expelling any Right Wing Evangelists from their holy mission of converting indigenous Indians to Jesus. And Colombia does have Oil and COCAINE, which IS a WMD.

The US government is playing Chavez game now. He (Chavez) has been announcing a invasion from US.
Invading Venezuela will make US relations with the Latin Countries more difficult and almost impossible to maintain.
Stop playing Chavez game, let him sink alone.
Venezuelans are traditional fighters they fought the Independence of South America and they won. They will take over Chavez eventually.

great, now my browser has indeed made me the village idiot...

Why on earth do U.S. administrations continue to view countries that are 10-20
% the size of the U.S. and have negligible military capabilities as a 'threat'?
The most obvious answer, especially in middle and south America, is the the threat serves as a fig leaf for pure imerialist politics. Call me a simpleton, but I can't come up with a better explanation.

Why on earth do U.S. administrations continue to view countries that are 10-20
% the size of the U.S. and have negligible military capabilities as a 'threat'?
The most obvious answer, especially in middle and south America, is the the threat serves as a fig leaf for pure imerialist politics. Call me a simpleton, but I can't come up with a better explanation.

Why on earth do U.S. administrations continue to view countries that are 10-20
% the size of the U.S. and have negligible military capabilities as a 'threat'?
The most obvious answer, especially in middle and south America, is the the threat serves as a fig leaf for pure imerialist politics.

Why on earth do U.S. administrations continue to view countries that are 10-20
% the size of the U.S. and have negligible military capabilities as a 'threat'?
The most obvious answer, especially in middle and south America, is the the threat serves as a fig leaf for pure imerialist politics.

Chavez kidnapped and gang rapes Natalee Halloway!

All of south america needs a douching. Chevez needs to die ASAP, Castro needs his head cut off. All communist need to be boiled in hot oil and shown on showtime. Brazil need more drugs and handguns to kill off the rest of the commie bastards there. Lets get this show on the road, BOOYAHH!!! We're coming for you Chavez, Castro & Lula, We're coming!!

Why not Norway? nallcando Jr. asks, because Bush would have a very hard time convincing Americans that a European country like Norway is a menace to our country. You Norway people are just so good! Bush would have an easier time passing his Social Security Bill than attacking Norway. (that made me Laugh)

We must use preemptive war and invade Venezuela since it is a human rights issues and the dictators hate us for our democracy. We will be welcomed with sweets and oil. Those who oppose will have our democracy shoved down your throats.

Is there not anyone who knows what's going on in Venezuela? Exxon-Mobile produces oil in Venezuela and until Chavez was ELECTED BY THE PEOPLE, E-M was paying almost nothing in royalties to Venezuela. Chavez now has the cry babies at E-M paying 25% and one wonders why Bush is pissed at Chavez? It's 'cause his corporate cronies are pissed.
Imagine, Chavez takes that money and provides food and medicine to the poorest of the poor in his country, builds much needed roads, trades Cuba oil for several thousand Cuban doctors to care for the sick and needy in Venezuela.
Can anyone imagine anything more galling to Bush?

Chavez is a populist president.
No, the government is not giving flu vaccines to the people and NO there's not distribution of the income the government is earning from oil exports.
Bush would never invade this country because the US could not take the risk of lose this ammount of oil.
And for you people that think there is democracy here or this is paradise, come here and try to survive a month here, under our "perfect" (and comunist) "government"
(from Venezuela)

Ed, thanks for the other oil import link, but its pretty plain. No cool maps and graphics. Just plain old government text tables. Who cares if its data is more recent. Cool maps, that's what we need! I mean, its 2005 and we're not colonizing the moon, mining the asteroids, flying instead of driving, and DOE is still using text in tables instead of cool graphics.

The future ain't what it used to be.

Being a Venezuelan, it is hard to accept a "balanced" opinion on the government play down there. I myself do not like Chavez politics, but try not to get carried away by the "inmature and inappropriate" comments left by both Pro and Anti Chavez teams, nor comments made either by the Government or political parties, which do not seem up to the level of either one.

The facts are simple: Chavez' intentions are right on the money in providing care and attention to the needy in a country that has suffered corruption over the past 40 years of bad governments. The problem is that the people still expect a "messiah" that will provide for every need, instead of expecting the right and priviledge to earn it. In that sense, the only way to achieve this is by "equalizing" the population as much as possible.

Venezuela is increasing affordable (free) medical provisions for low-class citizen, offered by foreign doctors and paid with oil (wondering if the rate of price is equivalent since a large # of doctors are fleeing to other countries anyways)

Venezuela is offering affordable (controlled) prices for foods and services... Where does this leave the cost of production and transportation?

Venezuela is offering "low-interest" loans to population... too early for a counter-point, but we'll see in the future

Venezuela is "buying" popularity in other countries in the form of investment and populism... just like Cuba did with Che Guevara (until his views diferred from those of Castro, and had him killed -- Castro --> Guevara).

Unemployment has lowered... depending on how you look at it. After the layoff of a "strike" in PDVSA, where nearly 28,000 people (3/4 of the workforce of the company), the company has been in a constant hire/layoff basis, to offer employment to the population in 6-month runs (6 mo. you, 6 mo. me, 6 mo. someone else). To provide for "everyone to have a piece of cake". What's is wrong with this picture? Somehow production has gone from nearly 5 mbbs/day to 2.5 mbbs/day. Management must be sided to the govt, regardless of knowlegde in field (like what happened to Lameda... good guy until he disagreed with the govt's idea of management).

Elections... clean? not in 50 years. So why should we expect them now? Because we have "machines that can tally the votes"? I'm an engineer, especializing in the branch of telecommunications, and I know how easy it is to track and alter messages. What a coincidence that right after the referendum electronic vote indicated that Chavez won the referendum, all the "printed confirmations" (that the machine prints after each vote) dissapeared, or got lost, or stored in military forts... only allowing selected boxes to be verified.

Still, this does NOT support an U.S. invasion. not until the SECURITY and INTEGRITY of the U.S. as a nation in threatened. Chavez is a SERIOUS MISTAKE in politics, that I agree, but I see it as a PUNISHMENT for the average Venezuelan citizen that never did anything to accrue for the government's politics, and never requested their rights to be heard and obeyed. And it is up to the Venezuelan citizen to determine what to do with the "autocratic socialist".

I want to respond to Julio.You say that we should pick a fight w/someone our own size and mention the Germans. I have witnessed military exercises w/ several different European militaries, including Germany. The US military would wipe all of them out in a few weeks.
only uncoventional warfare can stop the US military.
I have come to view the Iraq as debacle, but only b/c the Bush admin did not plan properly for the post war occupation.

Bush hates all righteous people

Thank you, Mr. Arkin, for bringing this information to the attention of the American public. Although we are deeply divided, we must be aware of the actions of our government if we are to have a chance at being a free nation.

republicans hate all righteous and kind people.

Hippie Jimbo, here's a better link on US oil imports:

http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/company_level_imports/current/import.html

Mr Arkin, Chavez already beat you to the punch. The U.S. invasion plan is called "Operation Balboa." Don't miss ABC News Nightline tonight Thursday November 3rd at 11:30 PM EST.

All kidding aside, I would have to say that Arkin's credibility has suffered a serious blow due to his ignorant comments on Venezuela in his November 1st article. This leads me to question his credentials on National Security matters period.

Venezuela is a lot more complicated than it appears Mr Arkin. You need to do a lot more work.

Regarding the US military and Venezuela, Venezuela's armed forces would fold in 24 hours if the US attacked which it will not.
Here's a factual article by a foremost authority:

http://www.vcrisis.com/?content=letters/200510270918

Here's a nice web site showing where US oil imports come from:

http://www.gravmag.com/oil.html#imports

Forget Norway or Venezuela, lets go after Canada! Those hippie hosers!

Do Pentagon war planners game-play war against Venezuela? Of course they do, they probably game-play war against the Swiss! Frankly, that is what the Pentagon does, has done, and should do. That ship sailed long ago.

Of greater concern is - why would the Bush Administration and the Pentagon lie about such plans? Why would they (apparently) assume that they cannot admit such contingencies, and that they must lie to the American public about what is so obviously true?

We should all carefully read Orwell's "1984" again. These lies about whether the Bush Administration has contingency plans to invade and control Venezuela are the tip of the iceberg. What is the point of the never ending Iraq Wars I & II, the never ending "war on terrorism" and "war on drugs," the constant fear-mongering (bird flu to the culture wars). Do you think that these issues are described as "war" by accident? No, these issues or problems, whatever you want to rationally call them, are being exploited to create fear and enable our political leaders to more easily control us, and, in turn, to enhance the ideology of this Administration.

As Erich Fromm explained, Orwell's 1984 was a warning - a warning that we can destroy ourselves just as easily (perhaps more so) as we can progess towards a world of greater justice and peace. Sophisticated methods of ideological and psychological deceit are the tools of our manipulation.

It is not paranoia that fuels these comments, but legitimate fear that America is being manipulated by fear and propoganda. I suspect that all empirial top-cats of history rationalized their actions as somehow for the greater good. Simply because the ideologues can also fool themselves provides little solace.

Bush and his cronies love "OIL" and he and his cronies do not care a bit about persons, only the shorest route to get the oil - i love the United States, but how can a citizen go along with all the lying, cheating and hateful ways this administration has - the Supreme Court was wrong by giving him the presidency - I can only say how can this government talk about the other countries who do false/fake elections - that takes care of his second term (bush) - we have so much and yet our own citizens are without shelter, food and health care - Venezuela and Oil - when I read this - my body went cold knowing this is exactly what some of the American people are thinking - lets hope we can impeach this president - after all, he did more that have his joint sucked - thanks for listening - cleo b fast

Nallcando, I agree with your point, but your figuring is wrong. Norway and Venezuela produce the same amount of oil for export but the US only imports from Norway 16% of what it imports from Venezuela
See http://www.epa.gov/ORD/NRMRL/pubs/600r01066/600r01066.pdf for the data (from year 2000)

We import from Venezuela about as much as we import from Saudi Arabia. I think that amount of oil in the hands of a hostile government should make the US worried, especially when China is moving closer to Venezuela. But war based on oil should not be something we or anyone considers, especially when oil is still widely available. If we can deal with the Chinese, we should be able to deal with Chavez in a civilized manner ... well, "we" can, I'm not sure about Bush et al.

Answe to the original nallcando: give me a reason why Bush is never atacking Norway, a country that has as much oil as Venezuela and is socialist.

How can Rumsfeld and the Pentagon be doing in Venezuela, and I guess in Haiti, exactly what Syria is accused of doing in Lebanon without repurcussions from the Security Council?

The hippie-hater must be Eric Cartman. When did you get an internet connection? Blaming hippies for everything. Go back to South Park and your cheesy-poofs.

Chavez won his election fair and square. Maybe this explains why Bush detests him so.

Chavez is a threat only to those seeking to continue US interference in Latin American affairs. We invaded Nicaraugua to prevent them from building a canal to compete with the one we built in Panama--after we stole Panama from Columbia. Even Reagan admitted this. Pinochet, the Contras, Vera Cruz, all US bullying. Conservatives, of course, ignore history and all its inconvenient facts. So they keep pouring gasoline on the fire of anti-Amreicanism. It's no conincidence anti-Americanism south of the border declined dramatically after Pres. Carter made human rights and morality the focus of his Latin American foreign policy. Conservatives, of course, derided him for being naive. But now they flip flop and cite human rights and morality as the excuse du jour for invading Iraq and giving Osama bin Forgotten a get-out-of-jail-free card. Conservatives feeling threatened by Chavez should just let those who really know what they're doing--LIBERALS--run the show.

Of course, if we do invade Venezuela as the conservatives want, we can count on yet another jungle war against an imaginary enemy. Just like Vietnam. You know, the war all the conservatives ducked by claiming student deferements and getting into the Air Nat'l Guard while leaving Americans to fight in their place.

I may not like Chavez but I'll bet Venezuela is providing flu shots. My company is about to cancel its flu shots for employees. Seems the Bush administration, which said a flu vaccine shortage would not happen again, has let it happen again.

Too bad flu vaccine does not come from crude oil. The Bush might then go to war to obtain it.

Chavez is actively promoting "revolutionary" movements in all Latin American. His involvement in the recent troubles in Ecuador and Bolivia is undisputed. His close ties with radical governments in the middle east are undisputed. His willingness to use oil money to further his "revolutionary" goals is evident. Venezuela has become a safe haven for drug dealers (several high ranking generals had to be removed for being too directly involved in trafficking) and terrorists. The only data that show the Venezuelans quality of life has improved is that produced by the Venezuelan government. The US should not invade Venezuela but should take the threat seriously because it is a real threat.

God, I really do hate these leftist hippies. No matter what any administration does you cannot please them. We are damned if we do, and damned if we do not. If we act, it is because we are imperialistic. If we do not act it is because we do not care about the plight of the (insert problem/oppressed/annoying) group.

For the sake of everyone, I ask that you hippies shut up, go back to the hole from which you crawled out of and leave the policy making to the big boys who know what they are doing.

Oh and by the way that includes the loveable little foreigners who think that they are better than the United States. You are not. Look at your own problems. Actually don't and in about 30 or 40 years you won't be here. Your population is dwindling and being replaced by the oh-so-fun poor North Africans and other assorted minority problem groups.

Populist leaders need conflict to survive and populism forces a vote on the right answer.

If a legitimate conflict (economic, social, or political) results in diminishing the leader's power base, than a distractionary one must be invented.

Sometimes they serve to unite, (as with the Cold War), and sometimes they serve to divide, (as with the current contention that security must precede development).

I would just like to know what country that has oil, is the Bush cartel not planning to go to war with?

I am Danish and I am left stunned by the article of Mr. William Arkin. Bluntly put: It reflect a sick approach to a serious problem, which is the self proclamed right of the USA to interfere as it pleases in the internal policies of sovereign countries.

As part of my academic investigations, I have been watching very closely the process of change initiated by President CHAVEZ in Venezuela and specially the use of the ressources of the country in benefit to its own people and not to foreign interests.

I wish that Bush, Rumsfeld and the Pentagon would have the same concern for the poor in their country that CHÁVEZ has for his own in Venezuela.

I think that the real enemies of the USA are to be found in its very same government. Those are BUSH Jr, D. Cheney, Rumsfeld and blood thirsty war mongers in the Pentagon.

Ask the people from down town New Orleans how they feel about the Pentagon and Bush spending trillions in sofistacated weapons and waging war on defenseless people and start cleaning your own yard first, before getting involved in other countries.

We like and respect the American people, but definitely adverse the human rights and international law violating policy of the Bush government. Any one with a little intelligence can se that it is all very wrong from all points of vue.

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All you people complaining are the same people who would blame the government if an oil shock, perhaps caused by Venezualan uprisings, caused you to have to pay more. Wouldn't you rather the government gameplan for such cases?
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Absolutely not. We're wa-a-ay past the time when we should be turning to alternative energy sources. Instead of invading other countries for the SOLE PURPOSE of grabbing oil fields (Iraq), there should be a program similar to the Apollo moon program, to thoroughly test, apply and beef up alternative energy sources within a decade.

Who the heck are you to steal other countries' resources? We suck up the majority of oil, from EVERYwhere in the world, for the U.S. What arrogance and disdain for basic human rights we've fostered in this country due to braindead dependence on foreign oil!

If President Corporation Bush quit giving huge tax breaks - billions of dollars - to criminal oil companies that make billions per quarter, gas prices would go down.

But hey, instead of being smart, let's invade other countries. Bankrupt values from a value bankrupt administration.

The Cold War ended over a decade ago but forces in the Bush adminstration are reluctant to recognize a post-Cold War world where a pro-active, participative, U.S. foreign policy would reap more social and economic benefits than the current one dimensional and Pentagon-centric re-active policies.

As Mr. Arkin points out, the Bush administration's pugnaciousness only fuels the contentious Castro and Chavez. Neither of these leaders are more of a real threat to the U.S. than Saddam Hussein was.

I genuinely desire a return to a pro-active foreign policy not only for our western hemisphere, but for an increasingly interdependent world.

Cowards! Cowards! All of them Cowards! The Bush Cabal will do anything it has to do to distract the anesthetized American public from the reality that they are living. They have already proven that they will do anything, up to and including treason, to advance their most radical ideas. So what if another country has to be destroyed so that W's fake image of a bold leader needs to be burnished back from the ugly patina we know now. Yes, I am that cynical and suspicious of anything that comes from this misadministration. War plans with Venezuela is probably the tip of the iceberg. Why don't they go pick a fight with the Germans, or the Russians? Pick on someone your own size, you cowardly bullies!

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The vote fraud scenario legitimazes preparations efforts by DOD to effectively deal with such an "unanticipated threat". It is clear Chavez style of governing Venezuela will become more militaristic after he wins the 2006 presidential elections,and opposition to democratic freedoms and liberty there will increase without meaningful restraints from inside or abroad.
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Until I saw "Chavez", I thought you were talking about the Bush administration. Crooked elections, the Patriot Act turning off many of the Bill of Rights, Congress giving dictatorial war powers to Bush that the Constitution FORBIDS - welcome to America, 2005.

It's none of our damn business what Venezuela does. It's their oil, not ours. The only reason to attack Venezuela is if they attack us. Fat chance of that. Has Iraq taught folks like you ANYthing?

Contingency-planning is just that: taking a what-if worst case situation and attempting to formulate a response preparation strategy. I'd guess that there are hundreds of contingency plans in existance, perhaps (no way of knowing) even including some developed to respond to changes in our current allies' positions. I'd say that it's good to be prepared, and such planning is NOT a harbringer of war.

The fact that DOD views Venezuela as a stategic threat underscores the bankruptcy and hypocrisy of the Bush Adminstration's foreign policy. The US supports democracy in other countries, but only if those elected leaders kowtow to US interests.

What on earth is the harm in preparing contingency plans for dealing with a Venezualan issue? All you people complaining are the same people who would blame the government if an oil shock, perhaps caused by Venezualan uprisings, caused you to have to pay more. Wouldn't you rather the government gameplan for such cases?

Who are the idiots on here questioning what Chavez will do after 2006 election - Hello so what? what gives us the right to go invade even if he turns militaristic. Did I miss the koolaid drinking session or something. Since when does the US have the right to go kill or take over countries their leaders are doing things we deem to be nondemocratic. Wow I guess Iraq taught us absolutely nothing. I wonder if all these Chickenhawks will be willing to send themselves and their kids first.

if bush et al need a war with venezuela..by god,,they will have a war..if for no other reason than to distract for their domestic problems...i really think bush et al thoroughly enjoy war..for them...it is fun..

If I feel that my neighbour has wrongly decided to reform his errant ways, quit drinking and give money to charity, am I allowed to kill him?

Given the 'Iraq War Plans' the neocons had
been formulating since 1991, it is for sure a man such as George Bush cannot be trusted with rational thought. He sought the strongest warmongers in our country and all proceeded to invade/occupy/destroy the fabric of Iraq.

Perhaps Chavez cannot be trusted to do what is best for Venezuela. Chavez has not invaded/occupied another country, has he?

By 2008 maybe Americans will want an intelligent, caring, thoughtful person as president and our country can begin the healing process.

George Bush and his crew has damaged our country so terribly with his domestic and foreign policies that we cannot get along with each other.

Venezuela is not a thoughless inclusion in DOD war planning. The POM that mentioned Venezuela probably assumes Chavez will win re-election in 2006, which will keep him in power until 2011. Obviously Chavez re-election will not be legitimately democratic but possible again through electronic manipulation of votes cast, just as it occurred with the first ever recall referendum vote in Venezzuelan democratic history, which by the way was the last democratic attempt to change government there. The vote fraud scenario legitimazes preparations efforts by DOD to effectively deal with such an "unanticipated threat". It is clear Chavez style of governing Venezuela will become more militaristic after he wins the 2006 presidential elections,and opposition to democratic freedoms and liberty there will increase without meaningful restraints from inside or abroad. So definitely "cooler heads" are in order to neutralize in latin America Chavez "Bolivarian Revolution" now internationally masked as "21st century Socialism" which promotes the use of democratic institutions to establish leftists political regimes.

Aside from eroding world opinion about the US even further and deepening the paranoia of an already paranoid foreign leader, what is the point of this series?

If a foreign threat from that (Venezuela) became evident and we were not ready I'm quite sure Mr. Arkin would be at the front of the line shouting "Incompetent".

Since there can be not proof of his assertions short of violating national security, again I ask what's the point?

Zathras is nothing other than another DoD implant drunk on power that thinks like the decrepid Rumsfeld (an idiot that for some reason everyone thinks he is brilliant because he speaks forecefully). To claim that Chavez is the enemy of the United States and democracy is plain laughable. Bush and Rummy are the biggest enemies of democracies. The last time I checked it is they who are planning militarily just in case they get to blow up some other countries to satisfy their bloodlust. It is people like Zathras that make me sick and sad to be an American. It is like they are intentionally doing all they can to make people hate us and seek our downfall. Who in the world wants a leviathan like the US roaming around free seeking enemies to obliterate. Our rep is bad enough as it is!! We are running secret GULAGs in former soviet prisons. JESUS H. CHRIST!!!!.

The assumption here is that naturally Venezuela is not a threat, therefore war plans are unnecessary, therefore people seeking to prepare war plans must want war.

A further assumption appears to be that Chavez is only seeking to bribe corruptible governments in Latin America and undermine others because he feels threatened. I don't doubt he does. Every aspiring caudillo in Latin American history has felt threatened; every one of them has seen himself as a victim. This excuses their ruthlessness in seizing power and dealing summarily with their political opponents.

Now, is American military action against Venezuela a likely or desirable prospect? I tend to think not, for several reasons none of which is related to a reality perhaps most evident to people who know a great deal more about the country than William Arkin does: that Chavez is an enemy of this country and of democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean. I appreciate the depth of Arkin's animus toward Sec. Rumsfeld; apart from that I have no comment about it, other than to note the irrelevance of his feelings to a cold-blooded assessment of the serious foreign policy problem Chavez represents.