Toeing the line.
TEHRAN, (PIC)-- The Hamas Movement on Wednesday received an official invitation to visit Caracas during a meeting in Tehran between visiting Venezuelan foreign minister Nicolas Maduro and a Hamas delegation.
Dr. Mousa Abu Marzouk, the deputy political bureau chairman of Hamas, told PIC that the Hamas delegation led by its political bureau chairman Khaled Mishaal conferred with the Venezuelan foreign minister on overall Palestinian conditions in the light of the Israeli aggressions and the western siege.
He said that the delegates also reviewed the American policy in the Middle East and Latin America.
Maduro affirmed his country's backing to and solidarity with the Palestinian people in face of the Israeli aggressions and oppression as a result of American policies, Abu Marzouk noted.
He also quoted the Venezuelan chief diplomat as affirming the Latin American peoples' sympathy with the Palestinian people in face of the ceaseless Israeli aggressions and oppressive siege.
Maduro also expressed the support of the Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez and his people for the Palestinian people and the Makkah agreement. He stressed his country's rejection of the American imperialist policy in the Middle East, according to Abu Mazrouk.
He also quoted Maduro as expressing hope to form a front of Latin American peoples and their governments in support of the Palestinian people as a first step towards breaking the siege and extending financial assistance to the Palestinian people and its unity government.
Abu Marzouk said that Maduro addressed an official invitation to Hamas leadership to visit Caracas and asked the unity government to open direct links with Venezuela and to open a Palestinian embassy in Caracas.
Meanwhile, a source close to the Hamas Movement said that Caracas might well be one of the countries that Hamas leadership would visit within its current tour of a number of countries a bid to rally support for the Palestinian unity government.
Emphasis is mine.
Amazingly, Maduro speaks not of the Venezuelan support for Palestine but that of the Latin American peoples support. A bit like GW Bush assuring the Maori (an example pulled from thin air) of North America’s support of their cause.
I’ve looked at the hegemonic possibilities involving Chavez. Given his oil driven success it’s too easy to dismiss him as an effect of the cause of inflated hydrocarbon prices. In Barnettesian terms, the frightening aspect here is that Chavez is building his own Core (also looked at here) of otherwise Gap states to compete and combat the effects of the American led True Core (Old Core + current New Core) states and their geopolitical/economic dominance. This phenomena travels well beyond Chavismo, socialism and Islamo-jingoism. It is the ultimate example of unity through the principle of “my enemies enemy is mine own” and a hybrid of all three examples presented above united in an effort to maintain a non-globalized (in the classic sense) presence that sustains otherwise counter True Core principles. In essence, it’s an “Us versus Them” division on a multinational scale.
In addition to the above the invitation of Hamas to the Tehran “summit” conveys:
1. Don’ come ‘round here no more. We’ve been marginalized enough.
2. Your Roadmap failed. Maybe we’ll take the lead from here on in.
Scary, isn’t it?
12 comments:
Chavez's appeal is exaggerated. He has alienated many people with his strident rhetoric, and his popular support will evaporate with the next economic crisis. The poor love him because of his social programs, but they're all built on an unstable economic foundation.
However, his popularity is an example in blowback. American-backed dictators, corporations, and the IMF "Washington Consensus" really hurt Latin America. Chavez's real role is symbolic--the man who gets at the "gringos." He knows this and is trying to build it into regional hegemony. But mere hatred of America isn't enough to overcome nationalism and culture and unify the region.
Plus, his link to Tehran is more rhetorical than anything else. If Chavez seriously aided Iran in any strategic capacity, Bush would have a perfect excuse to drop a JDAM on El Presidente's palace. For all of his bluster, Chavez knows that very well. At the end of the day, he won't stick out his neck for the "worldwide revolution."
Thanks for the thoughts, a.e.
Also on that note, I don't really understand why many people on the Left really love him so much. He's pretty much a caudillo in the old-line Latin American sense--restricting opposition and concentrating power in the executive. He bashes Bush, but so does everyone these days.
Are two Cores even possible? I blogged about it here (http://www.moodyloner.net/2007/03/rouge-core.html) but wouldn't the natural trend be for Cores to merge?
Steve,
In the long run I agree. In fact if our species doesn't eliminate itself first I think we'll see a cohesive trend in our societies.
In the short term I think we'll see a resistance to global connectivity as it's defined by the true Core. I'm throwing around Barnettese to both define my theory and contrast it with his.
If my theory is correct then the friendly relations among Iran, Venezuela and Hamas (to name a few) constitute what could be defined as a counter-core as gap states unite against the growing presence of the true core.
If Adam is correct then what we're seeing here is more of a group "fuck you" gesture from Chavez, Ahm and the other anti-US ilk.
Adam,
I suspect the Left's love for Chavez falls along the same lines of their canonizing Che Guevera. In twenty years maybe we'll see Chavez mug on t-shirts.
" Chavez is building his own Core (also looked at here) of otherwise Gap states to compete and combat the effects of the American led True Core (Old Core + current New Core) states and their geopolitical/economic dominance."
The counter-Core idea is a good one. It's actually been tried once before - prior to WWII the Axis states plus the Soviets formed an autarkic bloc that dealt in non-market, managed trade barter deals ( the Nazi-Soviet Nonagression Pact had a substantial economic component). They were trying to entice Latin American states when WWII interrupted this process.
The Soviets attempted to revive the practice with COMECON after the war but had tremendous difficulty even getting their satellites to participate with enthusiasm.
Thanks for the historical relevance Mark.
The question is: is it feasible beyond theory? Both Adam and Steve present damn good counter-points.
Well, the "counter-Core" can say "fuck you" all they wish but historically speaking, the long-term leverage of nations that rely on being raw material commodity exporters as their economic base is exceptionally poor.
If "cotton was king" then the CSA would exist today. The same may be said of states that are exporters of oil and natural gas yet must import gasoline or watch their economies decline.
As commodity market prices tend to fall over time ( look at the history of oil, real costs, from the 1880's to today) the counter-Core would need an industrial-information age hub - yet such a hub would ultimately become a hegemon over the backward rest. A serious strategic problem for Chavez.
Let me try that again with the correct link...
Assuming the source is to be trusted this bit of news might suggest the Venezuelan/Iranian relationship is moving beyond that of rhetoric. It also gives a brief nod to Marks "industrial/information" hub observation.
For the love of God... Here's the link http://www.mehrnews.ir/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=460444
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