Summary
Having warmed a few hearts and many homes with his discounted oil to states last winter, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is reportedly making a similar offer for next winter to Europeans who struggle to pay their heating bills. Meanwhile, the Bush administration recently took the largely symbolic step of banning arms sales to Venezuela because of Mr. Chavez's lack of cooperation with the war on terrorism. Both are overtly political acts, but the United States can do more to get itself out of a name-calling match that is an embarrassment.
President Chavez's taunts of President Bush - "the world's biggest terrorist," "Satan," among others - would seem merely silly if they weren't backed up with anti-Democratic reforms in Venezuela and significant arms purchases by Mr. Chavez in Russia and Spain. (The Bush administration has likened Mr. Chavez to Hitler and called him "the most dangerous man in the region.")See the full content of this document
Extract
Responding to Chavez
The arms may only reflect Mr. Chavez's often-stated fear that the United States soon will attack his nation. ...
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