Ready? Set?

Go!

In a mirrored office tower overlooking Caracas, a top Venezuelan official says his government is ready to accept Barack Obama’s offer to talk with U.S. adversaries -- if the president-elect scraps George W. Bush’s division of the world into friends and foes.

Such categories are “simplistic,” says Bernardo Alvarez, Venezuela’s former envoy to Washington. “Why do nations have to be friends? What we have to do is sit down and discuss issues.”

Venezuela may provide a useful first test for Obama’s pledge to engage rather than isolate antagonists. While President Hugo Chavez is one of Washington’s noisiest critics, frayed relations would likely be easier to mend than those with nations such as Iran and Cuba, whose leaders are even more hostile toward the U.S.

UPDATE - CIGAR MIKE - HERE'S ONE FOR THE CHUCKLING POTHEADS ON THE LEFT -- which is fitting in light of the article posted by George. A mysterious shipment from Iran to Caracas was seized in Turkey. Read about it here

I'm sure Hugo is planning on using these items for friendly purposes, right?.

Posted by George Moneo at January 6, 2009 12:27 PM

Comments

Posted by: joaquin at January 6, 2009 02:46 PM