Yet Chavez sees plots and plans against him orchestrated against his tinpot dictatorship by America at every turn:
Speaking to other South American leaders, Chavez said his conflict with Washington is rooted in the U.S. thirst to control oil. He said the Americans will be denied that in Venezuela, which is the world's fifth-largest oil exporter and one of the biggest suppliers to the U.S. market.
If the United States attacks, Chavez said, "We won't have any other alternative — blow up our own oil fields — but they aren't going to take that oil."
Some of Chavez's political opponents at home call his warnings about a U.S. invasion far-fetched and contend he pursues the verbal conflict with Washington to encourage a sense of struggle against a foreign enemy as he heads toward the presidential election in December.
My, doesn't he think highly of himself? The lone superpower focused on his little oil-soaked lunatics' asylum. And his valiant stand against our machinations surely prove his cojones are grapefruit-sized, eh?
Mark my word, Chavez isn't just cynically lying to give him a reason to clamp down on domestic opposition. I think that nutball is working himself up to a state of frenzy and eventually he will lash out militarily in the deluded belief that he is hitting us before we can hit him.
And then we'll have to actually pay attention to that charter member of the Axis of El Vil even though we have more important things to worry about.
