Open Letter to Samantha Power

 Daniel Kovalik

I recently read your statement decrying the UN General Assembly's election of Venezuela 

to the UN Security Council. This statement, so obviously laden with hypocrisy, necessitated

 this response.

You premise your opposition to Venezuela's ascendancy to the Security Council on your

 claim that "From ISIL and Ebola to Mali and the Central African Republic, the Security 

Council must meet its responsibilities by uniting to meet common threats." If these are the

 prerequisites for sitting on the Security Council, Venezuela has a much greater claim for

 this seat than the U.S., and this is so obvious that it hardly warrants pointing out. Let's 

take the Ebola issue first. As even The New York Times agrees, it is little Cuba

 (another country you decry) which is leading the fight against Ebola in Africa. 

Indeed, The New York Times describes Cuba as the "boldest contributor" to this 

effort and criticizes the U.S. for its diplomatic estrangement from Cuba.

Venezuela is decidedly not estranged from Cuba, and indeed is providing it with 

critical support to aid Cuba in its medical internationalism, including in the fight 

against Ebola in Africa and cholera in Haiti. And, accordingly, the UN has commended

 both Cuba and Venezuela for their role in the fight against Ebola. Indeed, the UN

 Secretary-General's Special Envoy on Ebola recently stated:

I urge countries in the region and around the world to follow the lead of Cuba

 and Venezuela, who have set a commendable example with their rapid response

 in support of efforts to contain Ebola.

By this measure, then, Venezuela should be quite welcome on the Security Council.

In terms of ISIL, or ISIS as some call it, Venezuela has no blame for that problem. 

Of course, that cannot be said of the U.S. which has been aiding Islamic extremists

 in the region for decades, from the Mujahideen in Afghanistan (which gave rise to

 Bin Laden and Al Qaida) to the very radical elements in Syria who have morphed 

into ISIL. And, of course, the U.S.'s multiple military forays into Iraq -- none of which

 you ever opposed, Ms. Power -- have also helped bring ISIS to prominence there. 

So again, on that score, Venezuela has a much greater claim to a Security Council seat 

than the U.S.

And what about Mali? Again, it is the U.S. which has helped destabilize Mali through 

the aerial bombardment of Libya, which brought chaos to both countries in the process. 

Of course, you personally supported the U.S.-led destruction of Libya so you should

 be painfully aware of the U.S.'s role in unleashing the anarchy which now haunts

 Libya and Mali. Venezuela, on the other hand, opposed the U.S.'s lawless assault on Libya,

 thereby showing again its right to be on the Security Council.

Indeed, while you state quite correctly that "[t]he UN Charter makes clear that candidates 

for membership on the Security Council should be contributors to the maintenance of 

international peace and security and support the other purposes of the UN, including 

promoting universal respect for human rights," the U.S. is unique in its undermining of 

all of these goals. It is the U.S. -- through its ceaseless wars in countries such as Iraq,

 Afghanistan, Libya, Yugoslovia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Vietnam,

 to name but a few -- which has been the greatest force of unleashing chaos and

 undermining peace, security and human rights across the globe for the past six decades

 or so. As Noam Chomsky has recently opined -- citing an international poll in which the

 U.S. was ranked by far "the biggest threat to world peace today" -- the U.S. is indeed

 "a leading terrorist state."

Meanwhile, Venezuela has played a key role in brokering peace in Colombia, and has 

been a leader in uniting the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean into new and

 innovative economic and political formations (such as ALBA) which allow these countries 

to settle their disputes peacefully, and to confront mutual challenges, such as Ebola. 

It is indeed because of such productive leadership that, as you note in your statement,

 Venezuela ran unopposed by any of its Latin American neighbors for the Security Council

 seat.

What's more, as Chomsky again points out, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez led "the historic

 liberation of Latin America" from centuries-long subjugation by Spain and then the U.S.

 I would submit that it is Venezuela's leadership in that regard which in fact motivates

 your opposition to Venezuela's seat on the Security Council, and not any feigned

 concern about world peace or human rights.

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