Hugo's Little Friend

The ever-invaluable Doug Farah has posted on some very unnerving (if uncomfortably unsurprising) evidence of Hugo Chavez' regime's insidious collaboration with Hezbollah. In this case, two travel agencies operated by Hezbollah supporters based in Venezuela were designated by the Department of the Treasury as providing cover for the passage of Hezbollah operatives into and out of the South American nation.

This is only the tip of a very disturbing iceberg. It is still further evidence that those who scoff at the global nature of this Long War are engaged in a very perilous form of denial. In fact, the evidence is quite daunting that the Shia contingent of the Islamist threat, emanating from Ahmadinejad's Iran, is actively seeking to position assets behind our "lines," waiting to become activated, for example, should all diplomatic and economic options be exhausted against Tehran's nuclear ambitions, and a regrettable but essential military action ensue. These forces are finding all-too willing facilitators among the criminal organizations and malignantly anti-American regimes in the region.

So, when I hear of interdiction efforts like the above-linked, and about increasingly aggressive and successful operations against guerilla outfits like the FARC, I am heartened. In this global counterinsurgency effort in which we are engaged, it is vital that we deny our foes the footholds they seek in hostile and/or lawless regions...particularly those which lie on our side of the Montroe Doctrine line.

If nothing else, news such as this should prompt Western apologists for Hugo Chavez' increasingly hideous parody of a Workers' Paradise to take a good, hard look at their brow-ridged Bolivar. He is keeping some decidedly unsavory company.