Chavez & Putin: Birds Of A Feather

It's amazing what a nice little cash flow can do for one's dictatorship. When prices for a barrel of oil were just creeping into the double digits, the "leaders" of two of the biggest oil-producing nations were laying low. Russia's Vladimir Putin was dealing with Chechen terrorists in the Beslan school massacre, and building ties with the West and President G.W. Bush. Hugo Chavez survived a coup attempt when he attempted to nationalize part of Venezuela's economy.

Now, with revenues gushing into their coffers because of skyrocketing oil prices, both have been taking an increasingly strident stance on the regional and worldwide stage. Putin has been spending huge amounts of money in a military buildup, intimidated Ukraine and Estonia, shut down opposition media and anti-Kremlin political parties, consolidated key industries, and threatened a new arms race with the U.S. over possible depolyment of missile defense among NATO countries in Europe. Chavez has moved to take over key parts of his country's economy and shut down the broadcast operation of the oldest TV station, RCTV.

All of this is not good for the national security interests of the United States, especially in Latin America. But is anyone in Washington, D.C. listening?