September 23, 2007    Ecuador and Venezuela are now in bed with.....this:


This is a badly performing- that is potentially dysfunctional- but deadly missile launcher that carries illicit bio warfare or chemical weaponry. Technically speaking this is a SCUD missile and its transporter-erector-launcher (TEL). Iran has the second largest arsenal of chemical weapons and missile warheads in the Arab world. Syria, Iran's ally and counterpart, currently holds numerous Iraq era weapons and retains the title as holding the largest chemical weaponry in the Middle East.
 
While we are confident that Ministra Espinosa adores these man-made portable erector launchers, however dysfunctional, we are repulsed with the current love fest for this, errr...equipment. Iran- and its equipment, so to speak, are now aligned with and in bed with Correa and Chavez in every way.
 
Sourcing JANE's here notes that "...to various estimates, Syria has the largest arsenal of chemical weapons in the Arab world, including as many as 200 missile warheads. Iran's inventory is slightly smaller, and they're less proficient in missile/CW operations than their Syrian counterparts."

This means that Iran is not as skilled in its movable erector launcher. This lack of skillfulness or....function [and some say good taste] does not seem to distract our Ministra nor does it appear to bother Chavez and Correa in their rush to team up with and jump in to bed with the current Iranian forces of evil. Just ask them. They are formally linked now with Iran and are moving resources and monies and propaganda together. That more often than not means materiel...weapons grade materiel.
 
Numerous militaries have and hold weaponry. What most have, and what Iran, Venezuela, and Ecuador now do not have is accountability and legitimacy as their central regimes control all functions of government. That is, their governments are so dishonest that all is lied about, even military function -or dysfunction as may be the case. However, do any seriously find it helpful to promote Iran's errr...persuasions or trust Iranian political judgment? This is a nation that formally lies about Western Civilization and debases human values, including religion while preferring the artistry of cults cum religion. While this may seem a natural choice in dysfunctional bed mates for Chavez, Correa and la Ministra, it is not a good choice for sound decision makers from any walk of life and must be rejected. Alliances with those who intend to destroy all that we hold dear, including freedom of speech, freedom to worship, open media, and functional democracy, is not to be endured.
 
Do you know with whom your Ministra is bed hopping these days?

Espinosa's pal Ahmadinejad will repulse freedom lovers and truth tellers in New York this week. He will then, like some unwanted house guest, move on to Caracas for completing his days of blunder. Correa follows in his foot steps. It is a two step engineered for duplicity and has nothing whatsoever to do with honest diplomacy or upholding any semblance of dignity before the UN.
 
Moreover, Correa promises illegal aliens in many countries a seat at his table. At table already are Ahmadinejad, the ghost of Castro and Che, the revamped FARC loving Alfaristas, and the looming Chavez paid minders, often embroiled with Russian money men. It is a crowded table. Over 20% of Ecuadoreans have fled their nation since 1999 when George Soros's own Jeffrey Sachs as sole economic advisor to Mahuad devised a disastrous economic collapse. Sachs will be part of the Colombia University crowd welcoming Ahmadinejad on Monday. Sachs's colleague at the Iranian welcoming club at Colombia, economist Joseph Stigletz is also a Soros acolyte and is revered by Rafael Correa. None of the Soros-backed economists have Ecuador's best interests at heart and only serve their overall drive for alternative democracy and alternative economies that is....Chavez-style socialism to benefit the politburo as defined by their own inner circle. Both men were once bright lights in the world of applied economics. Today they welcome the likes of Ahmadinejad and Correa even as the saner among us are repulsed by their lies.
 
The current refugee disaster brewing in Ecuador is of historic proportions. Unless Chavez's blockade is erected first, this occurs because Correa's economy is in free fall because Correa has mis spent federal monies and has no plan for restoring job growth and sustaining a functional government. Correa seeks a Cuban paradise for idiots and losers, a la Castro. Correa refuses to take the blame for his disastrous policies and is trying to tamp down refugee anger that he is destroying his own nation, promising a healthy dose of money laundering, tax evasion schemes and corrupt evasion of international norms to entice ex pat support. The Ecuadorean American Chamber of Commerce of Miami is having none of it. Bravely, they report the facts about Correa from a place where many delight in free employment, free speech and chose to self educate whereas in Ecuador many prefer to remain uneducated by choice and self deluded by self-serving preference. Meanwhile the numerous Chambers in Ecuador are reprehensibly bought off, their silence more notable for their utter refusal to stand for their own charters of existence, taking the half-baked theory that making deals with dictators is always rewarding.
 
Following Chavez, Correa offers the lure of bribes and enrichment schemes for his followers. The Miami Herald here lists numerous bribes offered by Correa. Problem is....this uneven ponzi scheme avoids what Ecuador really needs to govern fluently and legitimately. Today it is the murder and crime capitol of the world. Its economy is so badly mismanaged that Correa demands a bail out from the IDB, after only 7 months in power. He cannot find his country's monies nor does he have any intention of doing so. Correa offers even more criminal pass book savings accounts to so called Ex Pats, also called money laundering and tax evasion, for any who bring money and goods in and out of Ecuador, as long as they keep him in power.
 
There are well known options for leading nations successfully. Most courses include common sense and center around integrity-driven sets of goals and laws.

Correa systematically games and seduces moral leadership and promises instead...the game to his followers. Many Ecuadoreans prefer Correa's charms and his game of hide and seek. Others see it for what it is and what it is...is ruinous. Like Correa's politics and his integrity, Ecuador is now at the bottom of the heap of failed nations both politically and economically.
 
Now that Correa is outing himself in New York, as Chavez and Ahmadinejad's bag man, it is time to review exactly who he and his cabinet of CHE! crooners and dance partners are in bed with. It is not pretty and it is not legitimate.
 
-Manuela Saenz for ECrisis