Bob Amsterdam on Lionel today

With all due respect to Michael Jackson, whose music I love and have listened to for decades, there are other stories that are as, if not more, important to pay attention to which involve the future of the United States and our national security. Bob Amsterdam was interviewed on the Lionel Show on Air America this morning discussing the international release of his white paper yesterday which details the disintegration of the legal system in Venezuela and the systematic destruction of the rights of individuals by Hugo Chavez.

Venezuela supplies 20% of the US oil supply, thus it is strategically important to US interests, but Venezuela has been purchasing billions of dollars in weapons from Russia, more than any other country in the world. Why is Chavez, an avowed hater of America, arming? “It should make us concerned,” says Amsterdam, who calls Chavez "a Machiavellian dictator who is seizing assets and companies, and working extremely hard to develop a series of relationships that will impinge negatively on the United States.” As worrisome, says Amsterdam is the growing anti-Semitism in Caracas where there are public attacks on Jews. Also,the government is “hacking and tapping,” into personal internet sites and phone lines. Private phone conversations have literally been played on television shows. Add to this the fact that businessmen are thrown in jail for no other reason than supporting the opposition combined with the strong endorsement by Chavez of the “election” of Ahmadinejad in Iran and their mutual hatred for the United States and the picture that emerges is troublesome.

You can listen to Bob's interview with Lionel here, and check out his white paper here.