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Chavez offers Obama backhanded compliments
2009-09-23
NEW YORK - The last time he was here, Hugo Chavez called then U.S. President George W. Bush "the devil," but Venezuela's leader had only slightly more-positive sentiments for Barack Obama on Wednesday. "The arrival of President Obama, who can deny it, generates, has generated and will continue to generate big expectations," Chavez told a meeting of U.S. union leaders at the Venezuelan mission to the U.N. In New York for his scheduled address before the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, Chavez praised Obama's Wednesday speech before the same body, noting that the U.S. president said Washington is ready to work to promote peace. But Chavez also said the White House and U.S. foreign policy are unlikely to live up to the president's lofty words. "Sometimes one gets the sensation that there are two Obamas. One, who gave the speech, is good. The other, really, makes decisions that are contradictory to his speech," he said. Before the General Assembly, Obama pleaded for "a new era of engagement" on global problems, telling assembled world leaders that the United States shouldn't pursue a go-it-alone stance. Chavez said that when Obama talks about peace, "you have to applaud that," but added "if you are promoting peace, then why the seven military bases in Colombia?" The United States has asked Colombia for greater access to that country's military facilities, but says the proposal will not constitute a permanent U.S. presence there. Chavez isn't buying that, however. "More soldiers, more weapons, more war," he said. "Don't send more soldiers, nor more bombs because what you would be doing is, well, throwing gasoline on the fire. And that effects all of us in South America." "Obama, instead lets talk about peace. Let's set up a peace dialogue," Chavez said, later adding, "I say 'Obama, let's go Obama! Let's work truly together to promote peace! But I hope, hope, hope to God ... that Obama could become the instigator for a process of internal change." Chavez has a history of causing a stir on the floor of the U.N. General Assembly. In 2006, he used his speech there to infamously call Bush "the devil" no less than eight times. ___ AP reporter Rachel Jones in Caracas, Venezuela contributed to this report.
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