- MENU
- HOME
- SEARCH
- WORLD
- MAIN
- AFRICA
- ASIA
- BALKANS
- EUROPE
- LATIN AMERICA
- MIDDLE EAST
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Argentina
- Australia
- Austria
- Benelux
- Brazil
- Canada
- China
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- India
- Indonesia
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Korea
- Mexico
- New Zealand
- Pakistan
- Philippines
- Poland
- Russia
- South Africa
- Spain
- Taiwan
- Turkey
- USA
- BUSINESS
- WEALTH
- STOCKS
- TECH
- HEALTH
- LIFESTYLE
- ENTERTAINMENT
- SPORTS
- RSS
- iHaveNet.com
By Andres Oppenheimer
Latin America rarely comes up as a major issue in U.S. presidential races, but this time it will: There are growing signs that Iran's rising presence in the region will become a contentious election topic.
Republican hopeful Mitt Romney and leading Republicans in
The issue is drawing growing attention in Washington. On Thursday, as Iran launched its own region-wide Spanish-language TV network in Latin America -- a follow-up to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's fifth visit to the region in as many years -- the Republican-controlled
The hearings came hours after U.S. National Intelligence chief James Clapper stated that Iranian officials "are now willing to conduct an attack in the United States." Clapper did not explicitly suggest that such attacks would come from Latin America, but Republican congressional leaders did.
Recalling last year's U.S. government disclosure of a plot by Iran's Quds Force to kill the Saudi ambassador on U.S. soil, and a reported 2007 scheme by an Iranian diplomat in Mexico to launch a cyber-attack against the United States, Ros Lehtinen added that "the fact that the military arm of a state-sponsor of terrorism has its operatives in multiple countries in our hemisphere is certainly cause for alarm."
In his testimony to the committee,
Norman A. Bailey, a Reagan administration official, said Venezuela is helping Iran circumvent international financial sanctions through the use of the Venezuelan financial system.
In addition, hard-liners stress that Iran-backed terrorist groups such as
Romney has lashed out against Obama for allegedly failing to respond to Ahmadinejad's ties to Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, and in a Nov. 22 Republican debate, he warned that
The Obama administration says Iran is a latent threat in Latin America, rather than a clear and presenta danger, and that it is watching Iran's activities in the region closely. U.S. officials also warn against a U.S. overreaction to unconfirmed reports about Iran's activities there. Remember the weapons of mass destruction fiasco that led to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, officials say privately.
Furthermore, a senior
My opinion: It would be much better if Latin America came up in presidential debates in the context of a positive agenda, with proposals by the candidates to create a
But I'm afraid that, even without an escalation of the Iran conflict -- such as if Israel were to launch a preventive attack against Iran's nuclear facilities, and Iran retaliated by striking against Israeli civilian targets in Latin America, like it did in Argentina two decades ago -- the Iran-Latin America connection will overshadow a much-needed discussion on enhancing U.S. economic ties with Latin America.
Copyright © Tribune Media Services
WORLD | AFRICA | ASIA | EUROPE | LATIN AMERICA | MIDDLE EAST | UNITED STATES | ECONOMICS | EDUCATION | ENVIRONMENT | FOREIGN POLICY | POLITICS
World - Iran - Latin America Links Drawing Attention | Global Viewpoint