AN OPEN LETTER TO HUGO CHAVEZ AND THE PEOPLE OF VENEZUELA

AN OPEN LETTER TO HUGO CHAVEZ, THE GOVERNMENT OF
VENEZUELA AND THE VENEZUELAN PEOPLE

Dear Mr. President:

My name is Steve Lendman, and I’m a 71 year old
retired small businessman who might be relaxing and
enjoying my senior years like most others I know my
age are doing. I can’t imagine doing it. There’s too
much going on in my country, yours, and around the
world that’s too important and too dangerous to
ignore. It’s become a near obsession with me to
address as much of it as I can, try to arouse a
sleepwalking public, and somehow find a way to reverse
a destructive course led by the leaders of my country
before it’s too late.

I hardly need explain all this to you, as you’ve been
a victim of it 3 times in a ruthless effort to oust
you from office. What right does any country have to
decide who will or will not lead another one,
especially when the people of that country have made
another choice. And what country has any right to
decide how another will be run. Again, that’s for the
people there to decide, no one else.

No other leading country in the world today has
usurped the “right to choose” for another, except my
own which always does it (with one other glaring
exception in the Middle East that the US
unconditionally supports and finances). I compare my
country to a crime family’s Godfather who demands
strict obedience and tolerates no deviation. Those
who dare go their own way pay dearly. They usually
get no second chance. In my city of Chicago, local
Godfathers rule over “the north side” or “the south
side.” The US self-annointed “Godfather” rules over
“all sides” and outer space as well. They’ve given
themselves that right of total sovereignty over the
planet and universe in their policy papers anyone can
read and shudder.

As I write you the war drums are growing louder
against the current US public enemy No. 1 in their
target queue – Iran. The odds are greater than I care
to imagine that despite the sinkhole horror my country
has already caused in the Iraq, they’re getting ready
to expand that conflict across another sovereign
border and attack Iran – which poses no threat to
anyone despite the false and hostile rhetoric to the
contrary. Their written plan calls for it in another
“shock and awe” attack using “big” nuclear weapons –
so-called “mini-nuke bunker busters” that are not mini
but sure are nukes. For the past 15 years they’ve
already waged and still are waging nuclear war below
the radar in Iraq, Afghanistan and did it against
Serbia/Kosovo in 1999.

Now they plan to remove the mask, upgrade the weapons
to industrial strength and irradiate and destroy
another nation in a new unprovoked attack of illegal
aggression. The bombs they plan to use this time are
between one-third to two-thirds as potent as a
Hiroshima bomb. That ain’t “mini”, Mr President.
That’s big time destruction if they go ahead – and
it’s one more massive war crime of aggression.

Not to worry. We’re told it’s to make the world safe
for democracy and destroy a nuclear threat (that’s
non-existent, of course). In the language of a world
renown British journalist covering the Middle East
from his Beirut base – those comments are “what comes
out of the rear end of a bull.” Touche.

That comment characterizes everything out of the
mouths of leaders and spokespeople of my government
and their echo chamber chorus in our corporate media.
And, as you know, that hostile chorus is also being
directed against you, your government and your
wonderful Bolivarian revolution. I champion all
you’ve done and tell people who’ll listen if you ever
tire of ruling Venezuela, we can sure use you and your
Bolivarian spirit right here. I’ve written about your
spirit, achievements and perils several times, and
this web site and others have published all of it.
I’d be honored if you’ve read any of it, and if not, I
invite you to take a look. You won’t find any of it
in the New York Times, Washington Post or my own
Chicago Tribune, not even on a back page.

I know I hardly need to tell you, but I will anyway.
There are many forces and people with serious plans to
try for the 4th time to unseat you including “rogue
elements” in your own government, likely including
some at high levels. The US may even be planning a
special “shock and awe” attack against your country
using nuclear weapons that would cause great
destruction and spread toxic radiation over a vast
area. Please take good care, find them, expunge them
before they can harm you. Insulate and immunize
yourself against any others out to do you, your
government and your people no good. Your spirit and
glorious revolution have become one of my passions.
It needs to flourish, grow and spread like a wonderful
virus infecting and inspiring other nations to emulate
what you’ve done. That can only happen if you survive
and succeed unimpeded. I hope and pray you will, and
I’ll continue to write and speak out in your behalf to
help all ways I can.

Most sincerely,

Steve Lendman
Chicago, IL (lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net)