I mean really, Corey Flintoff, come ON. Has the Chávez government gotten you blinded too? Tip for future reporting on Latin America: if you're going to discuss regional security in Latin America, at least go through the motions of acknowledging the nuances. I know you're supposed to appear to play it straight, but I'm just not seeing what the point of this reporting is - nothing new, nothing that could not have been retrieved somewhere else.
Tell you what, since LatAm doesn't appear to be your regular gig, and because deep down, I really do like you guys, and also because let's face it, NPR is just such an integral part of the mediascape for so many U.S. citizens, I'm going to give you a little help precisely because NPR is important enough that it's drawn my attention today.
Lest anyone is uncertain about what we're doing here, the topic at the moment is exactly this:
Security in The Americas 101 : How Not to Look Like You Were Born Yesterday.
Regarding Hugo's bid to buy tanks from Russia, here's the AP, the AFP, Ria Novosti...even the Guardian, whose headline is almost IDENTICAL TO YOURS ("Outcry in South America over US military base pact" vs. "Uproar In South America Over U.S. Base Deal"), manages to at least slip in a mention, a mere hint, a whiff dare I say, of Russian military maneuvering in South America :
"[Chavez] has vowed to buy extra Russian tanks to defend his socialist revolution and told his cabinet to prepare for ruptured relations with Bogotá."
Though I suppose where the Guardian gives its one-sentence nod to the Russian encroachment, NPR gives its one-sentence nod to FARC-encroachment with this totally limp acknowledgement:
"Uribe has accused Venezuela of helping to arm Marxist rebels in Colombia."
Well shiver me timbers.
Regarding the FARC situation, here's the AP, America's Quarterly, the New York Times, Diario Las Americas, the Council of the Americas' Chris Sabatini and Stephanie Junger-Moat writing in the Miami Herald and even yours truly, through the lens of NY Times coverage.
There is also the Washington Post editorial board discussing at large the intersection of regional security with diplomacy.
There is also my translation of Fernando Luis Egaña's dissection of the Bolivarian sovereignty argument.
There is also the Miami Herald editorial board just outright rejecting the uproar.
Finally, Venezuela has been slow-boiling its relations with Iran, which most recently has been taken up by the BBC and IPS via the Asia Times Online.
And all of this is only in the past month.
Ok? Are we clear? Tread carefully here, Mr. Flintoff. Latin America is not for the faint of heart and it's certainly not for dilettantes.
And most important of all, its security is being threatened by more than just the United States.
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