The world is getting increasingly polarised: the US is now clearly retaking the offensive in Latin America to halt the so-called "pink tide". This is what is behind the support of the Honduras golpe, the 4th Fleet, the Colombian bases, etc. I think that the governments of Chávez, Morales, Correa, etc. and even Brazil, are bracing for ever more Pentagon interventions so the "enemy of my enemy...." strategy is fast gaining ground over strategies based on political and moral principles. I had no idea of the extent of neoliberal entrenchment in Iran before Katz' article. Ideological principles are the first things to go when under threat.