Peres in Argentina: Ahmadinejad, Chavez will fall
Lacing tough criticism with jokes, President says both leaders have gone crazy over oil.
By The Associated Press Tags: Israel newsPresident Shimon Peres predicted on Tuesday that the people of Venezuela and Iran will make their leaders disappear before too long.
Speaking at a forum in Argentina, Peres said both Hugo Chavez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have gone crazy over oil, which he said is not bad to sell but "really dangerous if you swallow it."
He said both leaders are headed for a fall.
"They won't hold, not because any of us is going to kill them; their own people are getting tired of them," Peres said. "So if you want good relations with them, consider that they are passing passengers. It's a short-term relationship, so don't waste too much on them."
Peres was touring Latin America in an apparent bid to counter growing Iranian influence in the region just ahead of a visit by Ahmadinejad to Brazil and Venezuela. The Iranian leader's call for Israel's annihilation has not stopped Chavez and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from asserting their own strategic interests in close ties with Iran, which Israel views as a major strategic threat.
Lacing his tough criticism with jokes, Peres seemed sanguine in an appearance organized by Argentina's foreign ministry. The Israeli president even referred to Chavez's recent exhortations to Venezuelans to save energy and water by taking shorter showers.
"I must say that with some of the things he says, I agree with him completely, 100 percent. For example, he says you shouldn't sing in the bathroom. I agree with him. He says it's anti-socialist to be in a Jacuzzi, 100 percent. I have tiny soaps, not too bad," he said, drawing laughter from the audience.
But Peres also noted Chavez's recent drop in the polls.
"I see the latest polls that show most of the people are dissatisfied with him," Peres said. "If I could vote in the poll, I know exactly how I would vote. Because the problem is not just what Venezuela is doing for Chavez but what Chavez is doing for Venezuela. It's not a serious government."
Peres also accused both leaders of wasting their oil reserves in an attempt to buy prestige.
"There's something in common between Ahmadinejad and Chavez, oil makes them think a bit complicated," he said, twirling his right hand near his head as if to suggest both leaders are crazy.
"It's really dangerous if you swallow it. It's not bad to sell it but don't drink it too much. And wheresoever there is oil, there is problems as well. You lose your sense of proportion," he added, speaking in English. "Let's not forget that oil is not being produced. It's not the result of human engineering. It's being discovered. And you don't know where it is going to be discovered or how long it will last."
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Well of course the capitalist organ the wall st journal would say that. You could hardly expect TWJ to say that a socialist reform programme that still has a long way to go, to be a success. Really use your intelligence, that I'm sure you have. I know you won't agree with me. Socialism has always had to battle its way through a storm of capitalism. Look at Obama's fight to get a mild reform of the US health system, just to help US citizens get the health care they need that is their human right. Chavez has made with Cuba's help given medical care to the poor. This is not something from the media, this was told to me from someone who was in Venezuela.
Tell them Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is "Joto." And it's a reason Hugo Chavez looks like Hosni Mubarak.
There's a difference between Iran's threatening to destroy Israel (and denying the Holocaust), and forecasting that a bunch of crazy leaders will leave the political scene.
Actually, Mr. Chavez has destroyed the Venezuelan economy, and so his popularity is dropping even faster than the Venezuelan economy. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125851006163953115.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Ahmadinejad's comments are born of hate, disrespect and scapegoating. Peres's comments come from a different universe. It is the Iranian people will reject their leadership. Ahmadinejad is not merley prediction the disappearance of Israel. It is actively shipping arms to Israel's enemies, training them and leading them. Israel is do no such thing to either Venezuela or Iran. The similarity is superficial. As to Jamshid's comments, the answer is of course not. Irrational hatred and delusion runs to deep in the Islamic world. Again, Peres isn't suggesting that all of Israel's problems will be solved by the disappearance of these two despots. There are zillions more lined up to take their places. Of course, once in a while, an enlightened leader manages to slip in and things do change. Witness Anwar Sadat. Of course, that was just temporary. One never knows the future. Peres hinted at the point. Oil will run out. Ingenuity, Israel's natural resource won't.
Hugo Chavez has no choice but to hook up with Ahmadinejad.Chavez a devout Catholic the other a devout Muslim, have nothing in common except for Oil. It is not very becoming of Peres to indicate that Chavez is crazy. Chavez wants to improve the lot of the poor people of his country. He has been elected overwhelmingly by his people. Something Peres never achieved. Only becoming PM on a rotation basis with Shamir. Peres was no doubt speaking to the rich of Argentina of whom the large Jewish population of that country are aligned. The poor of Argentina probably support Chavez. Israeli Presidents are supposed to be mere figure heads, and non-political, Peres has crossed that line, and should be hauled back, and told to keep a lower profile. It's only that we have a weak PM that he can get away with what he says.
and you think that your problems will go away after Chavez and Ahmadinejad?
"President Shimon Peres predicted on Tuesday that the people of Venezuela and Iran will make their leaders disappear before too long." - AP Peres is sounding like Ahmadinejad who has claimed that Israel will disappear. Yup, disappear, not be destroyed by Iran, not exterminated, just disappear. Such silly wishful thinking I expect from a failing Iranian politician. I do not expect it from Peres.
I agree!