Bloody Hypocrites on Parade

CNN is reporting that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Zimbabwe's dictator Robert Mugabe have attacked the U.S. and British administrations in separate speeches at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization meetings in Rome.

Among the tirades, Mugabe labeled Bush and Blair as "two unholy men of our millenium" and compared them to Hitler and Mussolini's alliance during WWII. Chavez carried on with his typical anti-American ranting.

If not for the fact that these two control important countries and command world attention, they'd be laughable. But the truth is a bit scary.

Mugabe succeeded in bringing independence for Zimbabwe from Great Britain in 1980, but after decades of rule has turned his once peaceful country into a bloodbath. The bulk of the country's farms had been owned by white Zimbabwe citizens, but Mugabe succeeded in seizing most of their lands. Those who resisted faced Mugabe-backed gangs who indiscriminately slaughtered countless white men, women and children, while Mugabe smiled and said he had nothing to do with it. As white farmers were killed or driven from their land, Mugabe's thugs took charge and have failed miserably as farmers. The nation's agricultural output collapsed, plunging so many into starvation. This makes Mugabe's comments at the UN Food and Agriculture meetings all the more ludicrous.

Two years ago, Venezuela was in absolute turmoil as large segments of the country rose up against Chavez's dictatorial ways. Surviving the upheaval, Chavez has made American-bashing a top-priority since . . . in large part to have a villian to point to. This year alone, he has embraced Fidel Castro, hosted a world conference for young marxists, built alliances with China, and generally gone out of his way to try and be some sort of hip, anti-American hero to left extremists worldwide. Just last month, he was in New York telling audiences that he loved Americans and would attempt to improve relations with the U.S. Of course, this was after a meeting with Jesse Jackson, who encouraged him not to confront the Bush administration.