who's the crazy one?

Chavez mocks US as 'crazy'
February 17 2006
Natalie Obiko Pearson, Sapa-AP

Caracas, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez described Washington's foreign policy as "crazy" on Thursday after the US Secretary of State labelled his government as one of the region's biggest dangers just days after making a diplomatic overture to mend frayed ties.

"Are they crazy?," the leftist Chavez told reporters. "Could it be true what the people in the street are saying? That Chavez is driving them crazy?"

Chavez was responding to comments made earlier on Thursday in Washington by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the House Foreign Relations Committee: "The Western Hemisphere is our neighbourhood. One of the biggest problems is Venezuela."

Close ties to Cuba

"The Chavez government is attempting to influence Venezuela's neighbours away from democratic processes," Rice had said, adding that the country's close ties to Cuba were "particularly dangerous" for regional stability.

"See this aggression?," Chavez said. "They are the ones that attack us, everyday."

"They've tried for some years to isolate us, to block us. They've failed and they will fail because they are wrong," he said. "World opinion is with Venezuela."

Thursday's dispute reverses what had appeared to be slight detente in the two countries' strained relations. On Tuesday, US Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Shannon invited Venezuela's ambassador Bernardo Alvarez to a meeting in Washington that was welcomed by both sides as a significant step toward greater communication despite political tensions.

"The government of (US President George) Bush does not have a foreign policy," said Chavez.

'They are the ones that attack us'

"I don't think Mr Bush is in charge in Washington. Other factors are in charge, and so as soon as someone shows a conciliatory sign toward Venezuela, the vultures come out and destroy any initiative to come together," he continued. "That isn't a government, that's madness."

Relations between Chavez and the Bush administration hit new lows in recent days after Washington expelled a high-ranking Venezuelan diplomat in response to Caracas booting out a US embassy official for alleged spying. The dispute launched a round of name-calling in which officials from both sides likened each other to Adolf Hitler.

Rice accused Chavez Thursday of leading a "Latin brand of populism that has taken countries down the drain." She also accused his government of conducting a "kangaroo trial" against leaders of a Venezuelan nonprofit group, Sumate, that was accused of conspiracy for receiving US funding.

Chavez, a fierce Washington critic, accuses the US government of repeatedly trying to discredit his government and orchestrate his ouster. American officials deny those charges but accuse him of authoritarian tendencies and threatening democracies in the region.

Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel claimed Thursday that the US was trying to block Venezuela from a seat on the UN Security Council after John Bolton, the US ambassador to the world body and current council president, reportedly told said that Venezuela's addition to the 15-member council would be undesirable.

The council at present has 10 members elected for two-year terms and five permanent members with veto power - the US, Russia, China, Britain and France.
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