In addition to the Middle East should our attention also be in Latin America

[Cold Highway]

While Chavez is slowly centralizing his power like Putin is doing. Except Chavez hasnt killed anyone..............yet. In addition to Castro clinging to life like a stubborn bastard. I feel that we have truely ignored our neighbors to the south. Latin America has turned left in recent years while prominate people like Morales and Ortega have rose to power. Althought I have read that Morales and Ortega want to reform their countries but not to the extent of what Chavez and Castro have and continue to do. We have also seen Mammoud "I wanna Jihad" Amendinijad being "friendly" to Latin America all of a sudden as well. I believe this a cause for concern.

 

[ALiberalModerate]

I say no for now. Considering the Bush Administrations record in terms of Foreign Policy, I think less places they "focus their attention", the better off we all will be.

 

[The Mark]

I say no for now. Considering the Bush Administrations record in terms of Foreign Policy, I think less places they "focus their attention", the better off we all will be.

Hmm. In that case, which past president would you have advocated taking such action, if he were president now?

 

[The Mark]

While Chavez is slowly centralizing his power like Putin is doing. Except Chavez hasnt killed anyone..............yet. In addition to Castro clinging to life like a stubborn bastard. I feel that we have truely ignored our neighbors to the south. Latin America has turned left in recent years while prominate people like Morales and Ortega have rose to power. Althought I have read that Morales and Ortega want to reform their countries but not to the extent of what Chavez and Castro have and continue to do. We have also seen Mammoud "I wanna Jihad" Amendinijad being "friendly" to Latin America all of a sudden as well. I believe this a cause for concern.

It will be necessary to take some kind of action towards terroristic tendencies in areas around the globe. Not sure of the details in these cases, but I completely agree that we should be concerned.

 

[rathi]

Chavez is no doubt moving towards a dictatorial trend. It would not surprise me if he started acting authoritarian. However, he is absolutely no threat to us whatsoever. Chavez makes us the enemy to consolidate his own power, he isn't nearly stupid enough to attack us. We may have messed with Latin America a lot in the past 50 years, but they haven't retaliated. Venezuelans have cause to be worried from Chavez, not us. As far as Castro goes, its been almost 50 years now and Cuba hasn't done anything, whats the fuss about?

Ever since the cold war, some Americans have problems admitting that everyone they don't like isn't unified under some giant conspiracy against them. Islamic terrorists blow each other up with much greater frequency than they attack us. A lot of people dislike us, each with their own reasons and goals.

 

[Arillious]

Now is not the time. We do not have the resources do really do anything about it.

 

[ALiberalModerate]

Hmm. In that case, which past president would you have advocated taking such action, if he were president now?

I would trust Reagan or Clinton with it. If the next president displays more competence than President Bush, a low hill to climb, then I will trust them.

 

[Joby]

Why should we intervene at all?

We need to realize that a major factor in propelling the left to power in Latin America is the general hatred of US policies by everyone not extremely wealthy, as in 99% of the population.

We should alter our foreign policy to actually engage and make ties with these leaders. China is the best example, but Nixon would never have gone there if there was a Cuban-like group of Chinese immigrants here that oppose any steps forward whatsoever. So far, we've alienated millions of Latin Americans, and now that we lack the stregnth to overthrow their democracies like we once did, we may not hold sway over these countries anymore.

 

[Kandahar]

Sure, we should pay more attention to Latin America than we currently do, but nowhere NEAR as much attention as we pay to the Middle East. Why? Because aside from Venezuela (our oil source) and Mexico (our NAFTA partner), the region is almost wholly irrelevant to US interests.

 

[The Mark]

I would trust Reagan or Clinton with it. If the next president displays more competence than President Bush, a low hill to climb, then I will trust them.

I'm not sure....by your measurement, a person who was more compotent than President Bush could quite possible be too incompotent to be president---which doesn't mean he/she would not be elected.
However, I have the feeling that even if we get a good president, we still might have a bad congress, unless we get really lucky.....or smart, which is less likely.

 

[Gladiator]

Bush's daughter wrote a book about the Aids crisis in South and Central America. Maybe Connie Rice would cough up some money for condoms. A little more increased availabilty of family planning supplies couldn't hurt.

.

 

[dragonslayer]

We live in the Americas, and much of our illegal drugs come from south of the Border, so of course we work with governments to solve this problem. We should stay out their politics. Look what our manipulated and made up reasons for go to war with Iraq, now maybe Iran have cost. We have destablized the Middle east, and created terrorist where there were none.
We invaded a sovereign nation for no dam reason, accept for a bunch of Bush lies.

 

[Gladiator]

Dear Dragon Slayer,

You seem to leave out the South and Central American leaders whose assasinations we have planned, and those plans which were executed.

Latinos have a little resentment left over from years past.

You seem to think that helping poor Latinos is INTERFERING.

.

 

[Red_Dave]

While Chavez is slowly centralizing his power like Putin is doing. Except Chavez hasnt killed anyone..............yet. In addition to Castro clinging to life like a stubborn bastard. I feel that we have truely ignored our neighbors to the south. Latin America has turned left in recent years while prominate people like Morales and Ortega have rose to power. Althought I have read that Morales and Ortega want to reform their countries but not to the extent of what Chavez and Castro have and continue to do. We have also seen Mammoud "I wanna Jihad" Amendinijad being "friendly" to Latin America all of a sudden as well. I believe this a cause for concern.

Why are Morales and Oretega cause for concern? There people have voted for them because they want to utilise there right to control their own resources and if they dont like what they do they can vote them out of office. Why would this be any concern of the U.S government unless they are determined to stop this from happening?

If theres anything U.S citizens should be concerned about its the fact that there tax dollars are going towards military aid to the colombian government and its paramilitary allys which, unlike chavez, have murderd thousands of dissidents.

 

[Red_Dave]

You seem to think that helping poor Latinos is INTERFERING.

.

Well who's in a better possition to decide what these "poor Lationos" then the "poor lationos" themselves? Surely we should let them elect whom they want and leave them to it?