| OCR Text |
Show DAILY AS NIRAID EDITOBIALS tDlTORIAL BOARD OmU Utmw. prrtiiiii'nt & PuMm'ivr Knndv Wright, l.xivuliv KJitiw Jim lymti. I ifitomil Piff f Jilor jDniliKiiHcralii RICH LOWRY The Israel of Latin America v enezuelan President Hugo Chavez reached for what he considered the ultimate insult when he called Colombia "the new Israel." If by that he means a country better governed than its immediate neighbors, that dares to protect itself against terrorists across its border despite getting bludgeoned for it by the international left he had a point Colombia killed Raul Reyes, the second in command of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), in a raid about two miles inside Ecuador. Usually when a terrorist leader dies, it's cause for celebration. But Ecuador broke off diplomatic relations and Chavez mobilized troops to Venezuela's border with Colombia, even though the raid occurred in another country. Ecuador doesn't have cause for complaint when the northern tier of its territory is practically a FARC spa. Reyes was in a camp, and he died in his pajamas. It was Ecuador that failed in its international obligations, by allowing on its territory a criminal with multiple arrest warrants from Interpol and a leader of a group that the U.S., E.U. and Canada all have declared a terrorist group. Originally the military wing of the Colombian Communist Party, FARC has employed almost every imaginable criminal tactic in its war on the Colombian state: assassinations, massacres, drug trafficking, kidnappings, vehicular bombings, hijackings, protection rackets, land mines and gas cylinder mortars. It is responsible for tens of thousands of deaths and untold numbers of internally displaced people. Once, Chavez had the prudence to dishonestly disavow his support for the group. Increasingly brazen, he now declares solidarig thugs. ty with his fellow He called Reyes a "good revolutionary," and honored him with a moment of silence. He calls for FARC's international recognition; Colombia reportedly discovered documents on a laptop at the FARC camp that indicated that Chavez, true to his rhetoric, had given FARC $300 million. What exercised Chavez about the Colombian raid was less a tender regard for Ecuador's sovereignty than outrage at the blow that had been dealt to his ally FARC. He was initially angrier st narco-terrori- ' 40-ye- left-win- h 1 . n"i v ras1 Ayr wiocat about the raid than his ideological soul mate, Ecuador's President Rafeal Correa, whom Chavez dragged into making a show of mobilizing his own troops as well. Chavez's grand ideological project is to legitimize FARC at the expense of the Colombian government, thereby helping it overthrow his enemy, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. Besides hurling the "I" word, Chavez calls Colombia a "geno-cidgovernment." He thus repeats the transvaluation of ethical standards we've seen in the Middle East, in which Israel is deemed a terrorist state for mm resisting terrorism and compared to Nazi Germany for providing a bulwark against a new genocide. Chavez has made headway. Once merely incapable of keeping FARC from its territory, Ecuador now appears to welcome it and supports Chavez's agenda. Bolivia and Nicaragua are ideological fellow travelers. A confrontation with Colombia serves another purpose for Chavez: distracting Venezuelans from how his socialist policies have trashed their economy. Despite oil at record-settin- g prices, Venezuela is wracked by shortages of basic foodstuffs. Last month, looters ransacked a state grocery store in Chavez's hometown. "You don't have to worry about not being able to find chicken or flour," Chavez implicitly says to Venezuelans, "when I'm mobilizing our army behind an outlaw band of fanatical Marxists." The U.S. must buttress its ally Uribe in Latin America's ideological war. One way to lend him the legitimacy that his enemies want to deny him is to approve the Colombia-U.S- . Free Trade Agreement, which would be an important diplomatic statement of the importance of our relationship and the progress Uribe has made solidifying democratic norms while beating back FARC. Democrats, though, have a e case of the vapors and are suspicious of Uribe because he is hated by leftist nongovernmental organizations and advocacy groups. That's another way Colombia is the Israel of Latin America a moniker to be proud of. iit.'B II r anti-Jewis- h I 111. ..VV'.iiW'.VUiWWf T. " IT'S 3 IU.WO PO YOl VJWT pro-FAR- C MWiW & j MERJKKs THE. PHONE? " mwxwK The race rolls on. and on "The battle of Hillary is over. battle of Obama has begun." Political consultant Dick The Morris "C'mon, guys. I just answered, like, eight questions." Sen. Barack Obama to re- porters. "All we have to do is run her ad and put a tag at the end, 'Paid for by the Republican National Committee.' " Republican consultant Scott Reed, on Clinton's "red phone" ad, questioning Obama's experience in world affairs. anti-trad- I Rich Lowry can be reached via comments.lowry nationalreview.com Beehives & Buffalo Chips Buffalo Chin to the fedpral r government for doing a poor job of notifying people who served as unwitting guinea pigs in secrets tests of chemical and biological agents in the 1960s and 70s. The Government Accountability Office said the Defense Department has dragged its feet in telling hundreds of people they'd been exposed to nerve gases, E. coli and other dangerous substances at "Project 112" at Fort Douglas at Salt Lake City. And folks wonder why we're suspicious of government. And while we're beating ' than one per county. Attention prospective migrants: If you're looking for a secure place to work illegally, come to Utah. Beehive to Provo and Lone Peak high schools for taking the Class 4A and Class 5A state basketball championships, becoming the ninth and 10th teams in Utah his'Mk- - tory to win consecutive titles. That kind of consistent excellence speaks volumes about the players, coaches and parents. A- Beehive to Utah County students and schools for stellar results in this Buffalo Chip to the bum- year's Scholastic Book Fairs. Jfc Eight of the 12 top elementary bling Feds for lax over- in the competition are schools laws. of immigration sight Not that that's a revelation, but a from Utah County. The roster news report highlighted a bit of I includes Meridian School and information that's startling even, Timpanogos in Provo, Snow in the ongoing flood of illegal Springs in Lehi, Ridgeline in , . Highland, Cherry Hill and Utah's congressional migrants. delegation, in requesting 22 more Northridge in Orem, Pony immigration officers, noted that , Express in Eagle Mountain and there are only 25 ICE special Mapleton Elementary. Good less work! agents for the whole state - up Uncle Sam ... DOONESBURY only mm iDOtrrmxj.mi IT, BUT WHAT A AMONTHOFWIXKIXuri MEUUINBECAUSeOF --- I K7 s moor KNOW IT'S HER MALLARD FILLMORE I ALSOTOCKPALMfflty T HO, Bruce Tinsley xTW txcmY mC,THANK CHOCOLATt WORKSHOP ,no. WlTolK ; 35 Garry Trudeau voow PURING INPtPtH-DCNACTIVITY AMD YOU iOU.HOUJVEW SCHOOL.' TOINQUIWft . f OUT HOtUP ,THAT60r i J1 n r UJiZ--.y IK L XxT jm" (MM |
