This is a brief reply to Postel’s article (“Hugo Chávez & the Middle East: Which Side Was He On?”) which was posted on Truthout. I posted the reply yesterday on Truthout ‘s website. I am posting it here to more easily include links that back up my points.
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Hugo Chavez strongly opposed the US bombing of Afghanistan in 2001; the war in Iraq, the 2004 coup in Haiti, the 2009 coup in Honduras, NATO's bombing of Libya, the lethal militarization of the conflict in Syria, the attempted coups against Morales in Bolivia and against Correa in Ecuador, Israel's aggression in Lebanon and in the Occupied Territories.
Few governments can claim such a good record. Of course it wasn't perfect. Then again Norway supplied troops to help the USA in Iraq. Sweden is major arms exporter and a well-documented collaborator with the USA's "renditions". Brazil (under Lula) supplied troops to consolidate a vicious US installed dictatorship in Haiti after the 2004 coup.
Kind words for Gaddafi aside, Chavez's stance on Libya has been more than vindicated. None but the most abject apologists are boasting about the outcome of NATO's "liberation" of Libya. Too many leftists in rich countries never seem to grasp their own governments’ capacity for destruction (and the media's capacity to bury it) no matter how high the corpses pile up. Incredible that anyone should have to point this out a day before the 10 year anniversary of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
As real world government leaders go, the overall impact Chavez had on the international stage was extremely positive. Chavez wasn't hated by the western media for his government's flaws and limitations. He was hated for the positive things he did.
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