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Venezuela Assisting Tehran's Weapons Programs

[Washington Post] Editorial - Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez has clearly forged a bond with one leader who is as reckless and ambitious as he is: Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In Tehran again this week, Chavez made clear that he shares Iran's view of Israel, which he called "a genocidal state." He endorsed Iran's nuclear program and declared that Venezuela would seek Iran's assistance to construct a nuclear complex of its own. In the past several years Iran has opened banks in Caracas and factories in the South American countryside. Manhattan district attorney Robert Morgenthau believes Iran is using the Venezuelan banking system to evade U.S. and UN sanctions. Now Chavez is off to Moscow, where, according to the Russian press, he plans to increase the $4 billion he has already spent on weapons by another $500 million or so. He recently promised to buy "several battalions" of Russian tanks. Not a threat to the U.S.? Give him time.
2009-09-10 08:00:00
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