Rumsfeld Makes Wild Accusations

The following are two articles based on what appears to be a Rumsfeld press release. The first one is a neutral account by BBC, and the second appears to be the message the administration wanted released. Editorial comments are in parentheses, bolded, and italicized.


From the BBC:
US warns of Bolivian interference

Donald Rumsfeld may find it hard to get regional backing

The US defense secretary has accused Cuba and Venezuela of fomenting unrest in Bolivia, which has led to the overthrow of two presidents since 2003.
Speaking in Paraguay, a close US ally, he asked South American nations to take a multi-lateral approach to the issue.
But while Donald Rumsfeld has had a warm reception in Paraguay, he will have a hard time persuading other South American leaders, correspondents say.
Many countries in the region are improving their ties with Venezuela.
'Isolation effort'
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said there was evidence that both Cuba and Venezuela had been "involved in the situation in Bolivia in unhelpful ways".

He did not give more details.

BBC South America correspondent Tom Gibb says Washington is clearly worried that the strongly anti-US coca grower, Evo Morales, who has led many of the Bolivian protests, could win elections there in December.
Mr Rumsfeld's accusation represents a significant stepping-up of attempts to isolate the left-wing Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, our correspondent says.
But countries like Brazil and Argentina are increasing economic and political co-operation with Mr Chavez rather than trying to isolate him.
And many analysts dispute Washington's view, saying the turmoil in Bolivia owes more to home-grown factors than external influence.
Mr Rumsfeld is also due to visit Peru which, like Paraguay, shares a border with Bolivia.


From the Washington Post:

Rumsfeld, in Latin America, Voices Democracy Concerns
Bolivia Is Focus of Appeals for Regional Help
By Josh White
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 17, 2005; Page A08
ASUNCION, Paraguay, Aug. 16 -- Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, arriving in this South American capital Tuesday, said countries in the region should help strengthen (a rigged) democracy in Bolivia and suggested that governments in Cuba and Venezuela have been involved in Bolivia in "unhelpful ways." (The administration has been repeating this accusation but has never presented any evidence)
Rumsfeld's brief trip is aimed at reinforcing ties with regional (client state only) democracies as they fight political instability, terrorism and drug trafficking, defense officials said. (All South American nations have democratic governments now, after the overthrow of US sponsored right-wing dictators) Rumsfeld will also visit Peru. (to read more about the kind of client state regime the US has previously sponsored in Peru, follow this link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4161526.stm )

Increasing political problems in Bolivia, which borders Paraguay to the northwest, have been fostered by Cuban and Venezuelan authorities, U.S. officials contend. (Again, without offering even the slightest evidence)
U.S. officials said the challenge is to steer Bolivia toward a democratic (client state) outcome (to tap their expansive natural gas reserves for next to nothing) while encouraging South American neighbors to work together. (to force-feed their citizens the Washington line) Peasant groups, urban activists and socialist parties have staged repeated protests (to nationalize the gas reserves instead of giving them away) in Bolivia, a deeply impoverished country. (due to previously disastrous "free market" economics)
"Any time you see issues involving stability in a country, it is something that one wishes would be resolved in a democratic, peaceful way," (which so far has been the case, ironically excepting for the US supported coups in Venezuela and Haiti) Rumsfeld told reporters en route to Paraguay. "There certainly is evidence that both Cuba and Venezuela have been involved in the situation in Bolivia in unhelpful ways." (to Washington's one-way free trade agenda) (Again, the same accusation without a shred of evidence, much like Saddam's yet unfound nuclear weapons)
The visit was Rumsfeld's fifth to the continent since late 2002 and the first time a U.S. defense secretary has landed in Paraguay, a country about the size of California landlocked in the "tri-border" area among Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia.
The tri-border area has teemed with cocaine traffickers and smugglers, and defense officials said it might also harbor groups that finance international terrorism. (another whopper) One (unidentified) defense official who briefed reporters Tuesday said Hezbollah and Hamas, radical Islamic groups in the Middle East, "get a lot of funding" from the tri-border area. The (still unidentified) official said further unrest (against Washington's unilateral economic agenda) in the region could leave a political "black hole" that would erode other democratic efforts. (or more accurately, erode Washington's attempts to undermine valid democracies)