Michael Rowan
Special for El Universal

Americans believe that the most dangerous enemy they face today is Osama bin Laden. But they are wrong. Based upon the cold logic of weapons capability and the intention to use them, the most dangerous enemy America faces today is Hugo Chávez of Venezuela.
Bin Laden wants to liberate the Muslim world from the presence of evil American military forces in its holy lands. Chávez wants to liberate the entire world from the capitalism and imperialism of the evil American empire. Both intend to defeat America, but only one has the capability to do so, and that is Chávez.

Bin Laden's weapons are suicidal true believers who immolate themselves in airplanes, boats, trains and cars with sensational, dramatic destruction, but America's way of life and operating systems are not affected by his attacks. Not so with Chávez, whose weapons include oil, money, military arms and tons of narcotics funneled through Venezuela to America. With those weapons, Chávez can double the price of a gallon gasoline by cutting off his oil to America, and perhaps trigger a stock market crash or and economic recession that cripples America's way of life and operating systems. Chávez also has subs and missiles that can defeat a US aircraft carrier force.

Another big difference is that Bin Laden suffers from great constraints to his actions, since billions of dollars are being spent worldwide to stop or kill him. By contrast, Chávez suffers no constraints. He owns 14,000 gas stations in America, hands out discount oil to millions of Americans, runs the most lavish propaganda campaign by a foreign power inside America, and has done business with Republican friends like Jack Kemp and Rudy Giuliani and Democratic friends like Jimmy Carter, Jesse Jackson and Joe Kennedy.
Hugo Chavez can do whatever he wants to in the US, which is a free country.

Flying undetected under the massive American radar looking for bin Laden, Chávez has penetrated America's politics, boardrooms, gasoline stations and TV sets with a real capability to damage America's systems. Thus the biggest threat to America is not hiding under a rock somewhere in the Middle East. He is right there on America's TV sets with Joe Kennedy saying about Chávez, "Help is on the way."

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