Responding to a South American Bully

Some bullies are always looking for fight, and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is no exception. Chavez has ordered a slew of his army battalions to the Venezuelan border with Columbia in an audacious saber-rattling move equaled only by his belligerent diatribes against the Columbian government and the United States.

Columbia poses no danger to Venezuela, nor are Columbian leaders seeking to wage war against a well-armed adversary at the same time as they are fighting drug lords in that country’s jungles. Nevertheless, Chavez continues to sound the drumbeats of war as if his country is on the verge of a massive home invasion. Clearly, Chavez is not satisfied with limiting his combative politics to Venezuela; so he’s decided to spread it to the rest of South America as well, a move that will bring much suffering and tragedy to the region.

Standing up to Chavez’ bellicose attitude without resorting to military force will require great courage on the part of this Nation’s leadership, and a willingness of our citizenry to pay the price (at the gas pump) for our courage because Chavez will certainly stop the flow of Venezuelan oil into the United States to test our resolve.

As individual citizens, we must not allow our government to make the same mistake with Venezuela that it made with Iraq. Nothing good can come from using violence against Venezuela. This time, cooler heads must prevail.