BUSH'S DOCTRINE OF PRE-EMPTIVE WAR SPREADS TO ISRAEL AND COLOMBIA

The typical modus operandi of George Bush and Dick Cheney is to rain down missiles and drop bombs. These militarists still have some 10 months in office. We should all be worried about their irresponsible war mongering, especially when it comes to the U.S. attacking Iran.

For the same reason that I abhor the Bush pre-emptive war doctrine, I also condemn Israel for trying to solve the Palestinian question with tanks and helicopters. The latest Israeli incursion into Gaza last week killed over 100 Palestinians, many of whom were children shot by Israeli snipers. This is not the way to achieve piece in Israel and the surrounding territories but it is the way to keep the Israeli-Palestinian war going for the next 200 years.

We have seen the Bush doctrine also adopted by Alvaro Uribe and Colombianos. Instead of negotiating with FARC, the revolutionary group controlling much of Colombia's rural areas, Uribe wants to kill them all. Witness Colombia's illegal military foray into the jungles of Ecuador last week that killed some 18 FARC members while they slept, including four Mexican university students who were studying the revolutionary movement up close. This militaristic move by Uribe effectively killed the program of Hugo Chavez, president of Venezuela, to secure the release of FARC hostages, especially ailing Ingrid Betancourt, former candidate for presidency of Colombia. This action shows what Uribe and many Colombianos really want is the death of FARC members, and to hell with the release of the hostages. I condemn Uribe. This is not the way to solve Colombia's problems with FARC. It is the way that Bush and Cheney would take. Surely they encouraged Uribe to illegally cross into Ecuador and kill FARC members.

HUGO CHAVEZ SEEKS DIPLOMATIC RESOLUTION TO FARC HOSTAGES HELD IN COLOMBIA'S JUNGLES

Finally I see someone writing an analysis of the disastrous and senseless U.S. foreign policy towards Colombia, Venzuela and the FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia). Mark Weisbrot writes as a guest blogger for Post Global in The Washington Post about the release of the two FARC hostages through the efforts and negotiations of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez.

Weisbrot correctly describes Colombia's benighted policy towards the hundreds of FARC hostages still being held in captivity in the Colombian jungles. Colombia believes it can win militarily, negotiations be damned. This is the same policy favored by George W. Bush and Dick Cheney towards Iran. It is the same policy favored by Israel's government towards the Palestinians. Bombs, guns and missiles solve all problems.

"The Colombian government appears to believe that it can win the 40-year war through purely military (and paramilitary) means. The Bush Administration shares this view, and supplies Colombia with more than $600 million annually in military aid, which is sometimes labeled "anti-drug" aid. But there has been increasing pressure for negotiations: from inside Colombia, led by the courageous Senator Piedad Cordoba; from the families of the hostages; and from Europe – where Ingrid Betancourt, a dual French-Colombian citizen, is well-known and has much sympathy."

Weisbrot writes that Hugo Chavez, in the quest to get FARC to release the other 500+ hostages, wants to see Colombia and its president Alvaro Uribe quit referring to FARC as a "terrorist organization." Otherwise, neither FARC nor Uribe will agree to negotiate for the hostages' release.

"In the last few days, Chavez has called for the FARC to be recognized as insurgents rather than terrorists. This has been portrayed as "support" for the FARC. However, his position is the same as other governments in the region, which have consistently rebuffed U.S. pressure to officially label the FARC as a "terrorist" organization. Brazil’s government has said that to classify the FARC as “terrorist” organization would likely damage any prospects of negotiating a solution to the country’s civil conflict.
"The FARC clearly does engage in actions that can be considered terrorist, including kidnappings. However, so does the Colombian government, and over the years international human rights groups have found right-wing paramilitaries linked to the government responsible for the vast majority of atrocities. And during the last year, revelations of ties between Uribe's political allies and the death squads have severely damaged the government's reputation, and led to the arrest of more than a dozen legislators."

Hugo Chavez is the one with the break-through ideas for resolving Colombia's stand-off with FARC. If Colombia insists on pursuing a military resolution with FARC, it is fair to assume that the hostages will remain prisoners for another 20 years. This cannot be allowed to happen.

CHAVEZ OBTAINS FREEDOM FOR TWO FARC HOSTAGES IN SPITE OF BUSH AND URIBE

Hooray for Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez for his role in obtaining the release of the two hostages from the FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias Colombianas) today. The two ladies released have been more than five years in captivity.

This is a huge setback for George W. Bush who has made disparaging remarks about Chavez in the past. Chavez is becoming more and more an influence in Latin and South America, while Bush's influence is little to nil.

I suspect Bush counselled Colombian president Alvaro Uribe to reject the help of Chavez several weeks ago in securing the hostages' release. Now both Bush and Uribe appear mean-spirited and enemies of humanitarianism while at the same time Chavez comes out looking like the real force for good in seeking an accommodation with the FARC to secure the hostages' freedom.