He, he, he, this is very good. Some days ago I wrote that one of the preferred place of Al-Qaeda in South America was Venezuela. To explode Venezuelan oil rigs, that is.
Bolivarians are very surprised:
Rear admiral Luis Cabrera, one of the members of President Hugo Chávez' Joint Chiefs of Staff, Thursday asked for verification of the "illogical" threat Al Qaeda allegedly launched against Venezuela, as this country is fighting US imperialism too, but using other methods.
"We should confirm the authenticity of these reports. It seems illogical that Al-Qaeda, which is against the US imperialism, is going after a State that is precisely fighting this hegemony, this imperialism, yet using other methods," Cabrera told official TV channel VTV. [HT: Jihad Watch. ]
The Devil's Excrement asks:
I wonder why Admiral Cabrera is so quick to react to this news from a wire sevice, joining the fray with Al Qaeda and stupidly blaming the US for our problems. What does the Admiral think of the way his fellow military officers are getting rich or are already rich under Chavez' watch? Or about the wild spending spree in weapons that take food out of the mouths of poor Venezuelans? Or the gift of oil to Cuba? Or the many unauthorized gifts by the Autocrat/Dictator to other countries? Has he ever complained about any of them? I certainly haven't heard him.
But Admiral Cabrera continues speaking:
"There are serious doubts about the September 11 attack and it appears that it was a self-inflicted attack by the US government, so this may be part of the same kind of plan."
Venezuelan crisis continues:
his statement is unbelievable. Imagine that. Military officials from a nation that frequently issues statements that it is "friendly" to our country also publicly promotes the theory that the US government mounted the September 11 attacks as an excuse to attack Afghanistan and Iraq, and now is behind the al Qaeda threat against Venezuela, as a way to cover for US military planned attacks on Venezuelan oil production!
Read all his comments. Especially important is the end:
either way, Chavez is the winner. Why?
If al Qaeda attacks Venezuela, oil prices go up, and Chavez can declare that he is the victim of an unprovoked US military attack, not an al Qaeda attack, and that the US is trying to frame those poor Arabs again.
If al Qaeda threatens but doesn't attack, the oil prices can still go up, enabling Chavez to buy weapons, consciences, and time.
One more benefit to Chavez: if al Qaeda publicly states that Venezuela should be attacked, it is difficult for the US to accuse Venezuela of being complicit with al Qaeda and helping that group.
So this threat may also give Chavez diplomatic cover. Let's take a wild speculation here: what if Chavez actually helped triangulate a plot for his pals in Iran or North Korea to hand a nuke to al Qaeda, and then slip it into the US. Sound wild? Well, don't forget, Venezuela and Iran just announced they are going to start a DIRECT flight from Iran to Caracas, the only stop over being in -surprise- Syria.
If that bomb goes off in the US, and the US military suspects his involvement, it will be so easy now to throw up his hands and say, "who…ME? I'm a victim here too! I'd NEVER be involved in anything like that---even if we ARE allies!"
Also read Caracas Chronicles' Al Qaeda scrambles chavismo's idiological circuit. He also remarks:
Only Defense Minister Raúl Baduel had a relatively reasonable reaction, saying Venezuela would step up security around its oil instalations. On the upside, his shtick wasn't as batty as his colleagues'. On the downside, his reaction implicitly accepts that the threat is real...with all the implications such an acknowledgment carries. "Yes," Baduel implicitly admits, "the real enemies of the United States could well target us, just as they target all countries that help prop up American power." Undoubtedly, a true thing to say - undoubtedly, a dangerous thing to think.
Traducción: Hace unos días escribí que los pozos de petróleo de Venezuela eran uno de los objetivos de Al-Qaeda en su nueva campaña. Los partidarios de la revolución bolivariana no se lo creen: "tenemos que confirmar la autenticidad de estos informes. Parece ilógico que Al-Qaeda que está en contra del imperialismo americano, esté yendo en contra de un Estado que está precisamente luchando contra esa hegemonía, contra ese imperialismo, aunque usando otros métodos", en palabras de Luis Cabrera, uno de los miembros del Estado Mayor de Chávez.
Los bloggers venezolanos están sorprendidos de lo poco que ha tardado este Almirante en hablar sobre esta cuestión. Además subrayan el hecho de que se haya referido al 11/S como un ataque auto-inflingido y a esta amenaza como una parte más del complot.
Sin embargo, VCrisis comenta la posibilidad de que Chávez gana tanto si Al Qaeda les ataca -en cuyo caso los precios del petróleo subirían y siempre podría quejarse de que esto es una contestación a un ataque americano- como si no -en cuyo caso, los precios también pueden subir por la amenaza-. Afirman que este comportamiento daría una protección diplomática a Chávez en caso de que hubiera dado cobertura a Al Qaeda en su territorio, sabiendo que si le acusan siempre podrá decir "¿Quién yo? Pero si yo soy la víctima, a mí me han amenazado!!!...."
Quico de Caracas Chronicles, apunta a que el único razonable ha sido el Ministro de Defensa Raúl Baduel que ha afirmado que se iba a reforzar la seguridad alrededor de las instalaciones petroleras. Y considera que es una declaración implícita de reconocimiento de que la amenaza es cierta.
Also blogging about this subject: Prevost.
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UPDATE: El Cerrajero (Thanks!) has pointed me in the comments section a cartoon about this. A very good one.
Translation:
Chavez tells the Al-Qaeda Terrorist: "But my friend, if we are from the same gang!"
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