The Conflicts That Go On Unreported. Not As Simple As Missing Planes and Putin.

by Michael Ledeen

The Big Story — the Global War — Goes Mostly Unreported        by Michael Ledeen

March 18th, 2014 - 2:03 pm

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The “news” is resolutely out of context.  A subject about which virtually nothing is known–the mystery of the missing airplane–gets saturation “coverage,” while events of potentially earth-shaking importance are largely unreported. Twitter is full of tweets, photos and videos from the streets of Venezuela, but the Maduro tyranny expelled CNN, and Wolf Blitzer crams his airtime with heads talking about the Malaysian passenger jet.  Any self-respecting “news network” would relentlessly run stories about the ongoing demonstrations from Caracas to Maracaibo–demonstrations surely the equal of those from Maidan Square in Kiev–but no.

The Venezuelan uprising may turn out to be the biggest story of all, because it is part of a world-wide battle that pits anti-Western tyrannies against their own people, and against their neighbors.  It is of a piece with Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon, Iran and Russia itself, where, just a few days ago, fifty thousand Muscovites demonstrated against Putin’s imperialist moves in Ukraine.

I’ve been saying for years that we’re the target of a global war, that the Pyongyang-Beijing-Moscow-Tehran-Damascus-Havana-Caracas etc Axis of Evil is hell-bent to dominate and destroy us.  Now the evidence is so clear that only a willfully blind man could fail to see it.  When the pundits were saying that Assad’s doom was imminent, I warned that he had the full support of Russia and Iran, and they would not go quietly.  He didn’t, but the pundits are still trying to unscrew the inscrutable jihadi networks and alliances, invoking the tired chant of Sunni vs Shi’ite, and refusing to see the battle of Syria in the context of the real war.

Today, the repression of the Venezuelan people is under the command of Cubans and aided by Hezbollahis, which is part of the same picture that has Russian troops-in-mufti operating in Ukraine, Iranian Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah killers operating in Syria, Iranian-guided terrorists fighting in Yemen, Iranian-trained Taliban killing Afghans and Americans, and on and on.  That picture has been clarified by the announcement that Russia is opening naval bases in Latin America.

Just as the fall of Assad would be a devastating blow to Russia and Iran, the Axis must defend the Venezuelan dictatorship, because its fall would seriously challenge the anti-Western alliance.  Venezuela is a lynchpin in the Axis.  Caracas launders money, transships weapons (as between Russia, Syria and Iran, for example) and drugs, and provides safe havens and training facilities for jihadis, from which they can move toward our poorly defended southern border.  Thus Cubans fight Venezuelans in the streets.  Thus Russian warships are headed for the Caribbean and the southern oceans.

Putin and Khamenei openly ridicule Obama for his lack of effective action;  they are not worried about an American response to their imperialist campaigns. Their fear is like Sauron’s as Sam and Frodo approached Mount Doom: they are afraid of their own people.  This is demonstrated by the intensification of the domestic crackdown in Iran and Russia. Putin cannot even permit Pussy Riot to be free, and Khamenei/Rouhani are killing at a record rate. The outcome of these internal battles is not foreordained.  Indeed, if we had a pro-American government in Washington, the odds would be against the tyrants.  Even so, the Maidan Revolution sent a great glob of spittle into Putin’s face.

As we head toward the November elections, we badly need revolutionary leaders, men and women who understand the gravity of the global crisis, and who embrace the support of democratic revolution in the heartlands of our enemies.  This president and his executive branch are not going to do that, and the feckless “reporters” of the drive-by media are not going to report it in context, so it’s going to have to come from Congress.

Or it’s going to end up as a big shooting war. And Obama is doing his damnedest to make sure we don’t have enough military power to win it without terrible cost.

Faster, please.