Venezuela prepares for aggression against Colombia

IBD Editorial:

Venezuela's Hugo Chavez was all bluster last weekend, flashing his missiles, hurling insults and spoiling for a fight with Colombia. The big danger here isn't Chavez, but growing White House indifference to an ally.

This fall, when U.S. officials agreed to expanded military-base access in Colombia to fight drug trafficking and terrorism, it never occurred to them how much Chavez would use the arrangement as a pretext for aggression.

"They are preparing a war against us," Chavez said Monday. So from Russia, he said, "thousands of missiles are arriving," along with T-72 military tanks "to strengthen our armored divisions."

The U.S. ought to take this as a threat, because signs are piling up that Chavez is preparing to move against Colombia. It's not just that he has ruined Venezuela's economy and wants to distract his subjects by whipping up nationalist fervor. He seeks to break the U.S.-Colombia alliance and drive the U.S. from the region.

Chavista military doctrine, after all, claims that Colombia doesn't actually exist. The 2005 "Pensamiento Militar Bolivariano" says Colombia's alliance with the U.S. renders its sovereignty null, giving Venezuela a right to take it over.

Monday's missile announcement follows a string of small provocations. Two months ago, 11 Colombian soccer players were massacred in Venezuela by illegal armed groups that freely roam the area. Venezuela's callous obstruction of Colombia's effort to retrieve the bodies stood out for its malevolence.

After that, Chavez replaced local security forces in the same border region with his own loyalists, raising fears that he is federalizing the area for fast mobilization and more control.

...

The good news for Colombia is that Chavez is in charge of this war effort. He makes up for his new weapons with an incompetence that suggest the weapons will be largely wasted and his forces will have a difficult time using them. He is like the proverbial dog chasing a car, with no idea what to do with it once it stops.

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