Continuation of blog series on the administration push to war. The spring of 2002 demonstrates, although not publicly, that Iraq is not the only oil-rich country in which the White House would like to intervene.
Early April, 2002:

Apr. 1, 2002 – The CIA issues a Senior Executive Intelligence Brief to alert senior administration officials that Venezuela is considered a “Critical Warning Area” during the next few weeks.

 
The brief warns that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is facing strong opposition from “the private sector, the media, the Catholic Church, and opposition political parties” and that a coup ...   more »