Is Chavez Just a Pawn?

This is my question for the month. Is Chavez being used by Iran and Russia? What is behind Putin’s decision to help Iran receive nuclear power and Venezuela military arms? I think there is a simple explanation, but I am sure their are some interesting theories out there as well.

Something to think about further.

A joke about Putin I read on Concord Monitor Online,

“Putin is sitting in his office with his head in his hands, when Stalin’s ghost appears. Putin tells the ghost his problems, bemoaning the incompetence of his Kremlin underlings.“That’s easy to fix,” Stalin says. “Shoot all the bad officials, and paint the Kremlin walls blue.”

“Why blue?” Putin asks.

“Hah! I knew you’d only ask about the second part!”

I