South American Leftists Expand Anti-American Sphere

The Gathering Storm, September 2, 2008

September 2, 2008

Bolivia's leftist president, Evo Morales, spent the weekend visiting Iran and Libya to strengthen diplomatic and economic ties there. Arriving in Libya on Saturday, he told the country's news service, "We are delighted about such visits to meet the revolutionaries and distinguished leaders in the world...We aspire to enhance the support and to upgrade the relations between our peoples in Latin America and the Jamahiriya," he said, referring toLibya. And in Iran yesterday, Morales continued his efforts (and rhetoric) to expand ties with the country that has agreed to invest over $1 billion in Bolivia's energy industry.

Morales's trip unfortunately was not the only recent example of a leftist South American dictator strengthening his global ties. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has had a busy couple of weeks including visiting newly installed Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo; expressing support for Moscow in its conflict with Georgia; pledging $400 million in aid to Honduras, the newest member of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, an alliance of leftist leaders in Latin America; and inviting former London Mayor Ken Livingstone, a committed socialist, to consult on urban planning in Caracas.

Across the globe, North Korea has quietly stopped dismantling its nuclear program. "We have decided to immediately suspend disabling our nuclear facilities," a North Korean spokesman said. U.S. State Department spokesman Robert Wood said, not so reassuringly, that the U.S. "can't get overly excited by a down in the situation right now because this process does go up and down."

And in case you missed it, Arthur Herman's "Russia and the New Axis of Evil" in last week's Wall Street Journal is a must read summary of the emerging and very troubling new world order.