There is a mounting body of evidence of a global alliance directed against the United States, running from Moscow to Tehran, Damascus and Caracas.  United by hatred of America, funded by oil and narcotics revenues (including our own), and unanimous in their contempt for free societies, the leaders of Russia, Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba and Bolivia publicly declare their intentions and demonstrate their resolve.  Manhattan District Attorney, the legendary Robert Morgenthau, recently spoke of the Iranian-Venezuelan collaboration in very stark terms: “ [Iranian President Mahmoud]Ahmadinejad and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez have created a cozy financial, political and military partnership rooted in a shared anti-American animus.”

We know some of the consequences already.  Secretive flights from Tehran to Damascus and thence to Caracas arrive at a special area in the central airport, where men disembark, are not checked by immigration authorities, and are given Venezuelan passports.  Containers are unloaded and do not pass through customs.  Similar secrecy attends the return flights.  Neighboring countries believe that many of the men are officials of Hezbollah, who then fan out across the region (and perhaps across our southern border) to recruit foot soldiers for their expanding terror bases, and we know, thanks to a paramilitary operation by the Colombians at the beginning of the summer, that Chavez’ regime provided Swedish anti-tank missiles to the Colombian terrorist group FARC.  We also know, thanks to years of hard work by the DEA and South American partners, that Venezuela is a major transshipment port for cocaine and other narcotics.  The drugs are sent to Africa, and then to Europe, and finally into the United States.

There hasn’t been anything quite like this since the early days of the Second World War, when Argentina’s anti-democratic leaders, in league with like-minded tyrants in other South American countries, forged a secret alliance with Nazi Germany.  As today, there were plans for military cooperation to aid anti-American groups all over the continent, with the ultimate aim of establishing control over South America.  Both the United States and Great Britain had to devote considerable resources to thwart this scheme.

Today’s evil alliance is broader still, and you can see it easily.  Chavez was just in Iran, where he announced that Venezuela would provide Iran with gasoline (and it’s a safe bet that other deals and promises were made).  From Tehran and Mashad he went on to Moscow.  When he gets back to his own continent, he will no doubt talk with his comrades to explain their next steps.  As Morgenthau tells us, they are intent on enabling Iran to launder money, which in turn is closely connected with weapons purchases, drug smuggling, and terrorist finances.

You can see the machinations in several intriguing stories that have appeared in the past few days, all having to do with Russia and Iran.

UPI from Moscow:

Russia has begun deliveries of Pantsir S1 air-defense missiles to Syria, some of which are expected to be passed on to Iran, Syria's strategic ally that has largely bankrolled the deal, according to the Interfax-AVN military news agency.

Interfax quoted Yuriy Savenkov, deputy director general of the Instrument Design Bureau, or KBP, as saying that deliveries started several weeks ago. KBP produces the Pantsir and other high-precision weapons.