NEW, SOPHISTICATED PROPAGANDA CAMPAIGN AIMED AT U.S.
...WHERE MARX MEETS FUNDAMENTALIST ISLAM
SEPTEMBER 13, 2005
By Toby Westerman
Copyright 2005 International News Analysis Today
www.inatoday.com
Image sells, and Venezuela's rabidly Marxist leader, Hugo Chavez, is determined to define his nation's image in the U.S. Chavez also wants to cover up what most Americans would consider repugnant and threatening, including close alliances with pro-terror states.
Already, most of the mass media is loath to refer to him as a Marxist, although Chavez has repeatedly and openly condemned capitalism, especially the U.S. economic system, and has called North Korea a "model" for Venezuela to follow. Chavez is using his nation's considerable oil wealth to extend his brand of Marxist revolution through out Latin America, promising to bring at least a portion of the North Korean "model" into America's backyard.
In early August, the capital of Venezuela, Caracas, played host to the "16th Festival of Youth and Students," a gathering of Marxist radicals and revolutionaries. During the "Festival," Chavez addressed the participants, decrying "evil capitalism" and extolling Socialism" as the way "to save the world." The planning session for the "Festival" was in Hanoi, Vietnam. Earlier "Festival" venues were Cuba, North Korea, and the defunct USSR.
As pressure from the administration of U.S. President George Bush increased against his regime, Chavez decided to mount a propaganda offensive. Chavez' target would be U.S. foreign policy, and the battleground for the offensive would be the United States itself.
A significant part of the groundwork for Chavez's propaganda offensive can be seen in the visit of Rev. Jessie Jackson's three-day visit to Venezuela in late August. At the end of his sojourn, Jackson publicly took issue with U.S. statements that the Chavez government is a source of "instability" in Latin America, and stated that he found "no evidence" to support U.S. concerns, and urged efforts "to reduce…tensions."
With this declaration, one of the most prominent liberal activists in the U.S. sided with a foreign leader against the official policy of the United States. Rev. Jackson's statements would be read and considered by millions in the U.S., and Chavez could now claim that he and his government have support among some of the power elite in the U.S.
Rev. Jackson and his Rainbow Coalition organization are based in Chicago, which is becoming a center of pro-Chavez activity. Shortly following Rev. Jackson's Venezuelan trip, a last minute contribution from the government of Venezuela and the Venezuelan-controlled Citgo petroleum corporation, enabled Chicago's Puerto Rican Labor Day festival to take place. The City of Chicago and the County of Cook, where Chicago is located, has just concluded an agreement to use voting machines and election machine software produced by a firm with reportedly close connections to the Venezuelan government.
Chicago will also be the starting point on October 13, 2005 for the six-city tour of "Venezuela Matters," a group of "business leaders, musical artists, and academics" accompanied by "empowered Venezuelans" touting the wonders of the Marxist Chavez regime.
Not included in the touring company's testimony will be revelations concerning the close alliance Chavez has with terror supporting nations of North Korea, Syria, and the burgeoning atomic power of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In the past week, Chavez concluded agreements amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars with Iran involving "small-scale industries," oil production, and the "transfer of technology."
Chavez also supports communist guerrilla operations in Colombia, persecutes the Catholic Church in his country, and obtains support from street thugs referred to as the "Bolivarian Circle," who regularly attack opponents of the Chavez regime.
Chavez learned his media lessons from his Cuban mentor, Fidel Castro, who discovered an unexpected alliance between much of the U.S. media and the regime in Havana, during the Elian Gonzalez tragedy.
The story of Elian had been played out for weeks on U.S. television and in the newspapers. Elian's mother died in an effort to reach U.S. shores, and her seven year-old son, who did survive the journey from Cuba, had been living with relatives in Florida. An early morning raid ordered by the Clinton Justice Department resulted in the child coming into U.S. custody and then returned to Cuba.
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Castro discovered that, "Virtually all of the United States' most influential media" supported the forced return of Elian to Cuba, which eased cooperation between the Clinton White House and Havana. The power of the U.S. media to influence public opinion in his favor impressed Castro. In an impromptu interview, Castro declared that in any future disputes with his enemies in the United States, "U.S. public opinion must be taken into account." The Elian controversy "is a lesson for us," Castro stated, according to an April 24, 2000 report from state-operated Radio Havana.
Chavez, a pupil of Fidel Castro, is a major threat -- we ignore him at our peril. The Chavez propaganda campaign will not go unanswered.
Copyright
2005
International News Analysis Today
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