Can we afford to take a "holiday from history"? Two years ago I spoke of "the gathering storm" of anti-American nations - such as Iran, Russia and Venezuela - moving to confront us and was roundly criticized as a fear monger.

A quick look at the last 12 months:

September 2007: Iran establishes diplomatic relations with Bolivia. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad pledges $1 billion to help Bolivian President Evo Morales' "Bolivarian revolution."

September 2007: At a meeting in Venezuela with President Hugo Chavez, Ahmadinejad pledges $9 billion in direct aid to the region in 2007 alone.

October 2007: Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden releases a videotape message laying the foundation for an alliance between radical Islamism and Western leftist "progressivism."

October 2007: Iran and Venezuela announce their intent to sponsor "a global progressist front" to underline "the ideological kinship of the left and revolutionary Islam."

October 2007: In Venezuela, Russia's deputy prime minister says his country will build a $1 billion alumina plant. (Alumina is used to make aluminum.)

November 2007: Chavez tells French TV that Venezuela will join Iran in launching a "peaceful" nuclear program.

November 2007: Chavez meets in Tehran with Ahmadinejad to expand bilateral ties - Tehran-Caracas flights, joint construction of an oil refinery, a $2 billion anti-American fund, and greater outreach to North Korean, Syrian and Cuban allies.

November 2007: Venezuela's 2008 budget draft includes more than $250 million to finance "anti-imperialist" movements in the United States, Mexico, and Central and South America.

December 2007: China and Russia ignore U.S. sanctions triggered by Iran's nuclear program and continue to invest in Iran.

January 2008: Russia's Vladimir V. Putin announces plans to launch two long-range missiles just off the coasts of France and Spain in the biggest naval exercise since the days of the Soviet Union.

January 2008: Russia continues its nuclear-fuel shipments to Iran. There also are reports the two countries are teaming up to advocate for a "gas OPEC."

February 2008: National Intelligence Director Michael McConnell testifies to Congress that Iran, Venezuela and Cuba are working to undermine the spread of democracy though drug trafficking and the establishment of terrorist safe havens in the Western Hemisphere.

February 2008: Iran announces that it will cooperate with Venezuela on more than 30 industrial projects in 2008.

February 2008: Morales announces that Iran plans to open a television station "for all of Latin America" in Bolivia's Andean foothills.

March 2008: Iran launches a nuclear-capable ballistic missile that could reach Europe.

May 2008: Chavez announces that Venezuela has purchased military planes from China, expanding both its arms and its relationship with Beijing.

June 2008: International Atomic Energy Agency head Mohamed ElBaradei says Iran could have a nuclear weapon within six months.

June 2008: Ahmadinejad says: "Today, the time for the fall of the satanic power of the United States has come and the countdown to the annihilation of the emperor of power and wealth has started."

July 2008: A Russian newspaper suggests Russia may locate nuclear bombers in Cuba in response to a missile-shield agreement between the United States and Poland. After days of anonymous Russian military comments supporting the story, it is "officially" denied.

August 2008: Chavez announces that Venezuela has taken delivery of 24 Russian fighter jets.

August 2008: Russia invades Georgia, forcing Turkey to increase its imports from Iran and prompting the two countries to discuss increased cooperation on energy matters.

August 2008: Bolivia announces it has signed an agreement to establish diplomatic ties with Libya and cooperate on energy development

August 2008: Iran-backed Hezbollah reportedly is working to convert indigenous populations in South America to Shiite Islam to establish a base from which to strike the United States.

August 2008: Syria blocks a United Nations investigation into links between the Syrian nuclear program and North Korea.

August 2008: North Korea suspends the dismantling of its nuclear facilities.

September 2008: Russia is reported to be selling arms to Islamic terrorists in Iraq through Syria and Iran.

September 2008: Russia and Venezuela announce joint naval maneuvers in the Caribbean.

A gathering storm? I suspect we will need more than umbrellas.

Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum is a Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center.