In today's Wall Street Journal, there is a very good article by Andrew Higgins on the strange alliance of communists and Islamic radicals. Titled "Anti-Americans on the March," this article didn't reveal any conspiracy that I had never thought of before, nor that anyone else at Hugo Chavez Watch has thought of. It's evident from the closeness of Chavez and Ahmadinejad to college campus sympathizing with Islamic militants that anti-American hatred can make strange bedfellows.
From the article:
In deeply Roman Catholic Latin America, Hugo Chávez of Venezuela has become the exemplar of a new populism that sees common cause with Iran and Hezbollah. Mr. Chávez, re-elected in a landslide last Sunday, has met Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad several times and this summer was given the Islamic Republic Medal, Iran's highest honor. Amid the rubble of Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, portraits of Mr. Chávez now hang alongside pictures of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Hezbollah put them up after Mr. Chávez denounced President Bush as the devil in a September speech to the UN. "Gracias Chávez," they say.
The Spanish alliance with the Islamists continues outside of Latin America, as well:
In Spain, the socialist prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, has reached out to Muslims, propounding what he calls "an alliance of civilizations" and voicing sympathy for Hamas and Hezbollah. He has good relations with Mr. Chávez, Fidel Castro of Cuba and Bolivia's populist leader, Evo Morales.
Solidarity between Muslim grevance-pushers and the hard Left can be seen on the sidebar of this very blog. Tariq Ali has made a career of delivering anti-American speeches and ignoring the lack of reform within Muslim countries. His latest book, Pirates of the Carribean, portrays the leaders of Venezuela and Bolivia, along with the ex-leader of Cuba, as an "axis of hope."
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