Posted on 02/17/2005 1:05:56 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
This week, Mr. Chávez signed deals with Brazil that include the likely acquisition of at least a dozen light- attack aircraft.
At the same time, Venezuela is negotiating with Russia to purchase as many as 50 Mig-29 SMT fighter jets (the most advanced type) to replace its American-made F-16s. This on top of an agreement to buy 40 Russian military helicopters and 100,000 Kalashnikov rifles.
Washington protested to Moscow last week, citing the potential of a "destabilizing effect on the hemisphere." But the Russians shot down the complaint, and Chávez once again chided the US for "meddling."
Specifically, the US is concerned the weapons will find their way into rebel hands in neighboring Colombia. There, President Alvaro Uribe is trying to put down a longstanding leftist insurgency and fight the drug trade. Colombia is Washington's close ally, and the largest recipient of US security aid outside the Middle East.
Colombia and Venezuela verged on war in 1987, when the two were locked in a territorial dispute. This week, they managed to defuse a political crisis over a wanted Colombian rebel who had a bounty on his head and had been kidnapped from Venezuela. Bogota accuses the leftist government in Caracas of harboring insurgents.
Washington is concerned about Chávez's antidemocratic course and his plans to divert Venezuelan oil from the US to China. How the populist leader handles his economy is one thing, but embarking on a potential arms race with Colombia (and thus the US), and beefing up the military while cracking down on Venezuelans' liberties, is not just his affair.
Those will supplement those 50 MiGs?
bump
I think the US military could stand to be bolstered significantely. However, that said, I doubt those 50 Migs would last much longer than 50 seconds if Chavez got the wrong guy in DC pissed off to much.
***....In South America, extremists groups, particularly the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), were called a threat to US interests in the region.
Europe has not been spared the terrorist threat, the CIA director said, and Islamic extremists there continue to “plan and cause attacks” against US and local interests.
Summing up the vastness of the challenge, Goss said there were ”endless haystacks” that needed to be sifted through to find warnings.
“We need to make some tough decisions about which haystacks deserve to be scrutinized for the needles that can hurt us most,” he said. “We know in this information age that there are literally endless haystacks everywhere.”...***
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/focusoniraq/2005/February/focusoniraq_February117.xml§ion=focusoniraq
The article calls him a populist and he certainly has Jimmy Carter's approval.
How can the media let him get away with spending all that money on the military instead of the people? Oh that's right, he's not a Republican.
Again proving the fact that there is not a dicktator in the world who's ass has not been graced by the lips of Jimmy KARTER!
And they're naming a sub after the turd. We really ARE in the S**T LOCKER!
He's spending a lot of oil money on the people. That's how he's expanded his base and started block watches ala Castro. That and the tens of thousands of Cuban operatives working in Venezuela have begun terrorizing anyone with thoughts of a real democracy. The ax will fall soon and the chains of communism will be heavy. Chavez's goal is to spread his revolution throughout South America. Jimmy Carter is pleased with his progress.
Venezuela's F-16s are not that old that they need to be retired -I think the problem is lack of spares from the US.
Anyway the Mig-29SMT they are buying will carry pretty much the best Russian weaponry on offer-well atleast that's what they say!!
Bump!
As a Venezuelan citizen (wich lets face it, I can probably have more freedom on another country as an illegal immigrant) I just wish to say that I do read and watch the news from time to time. First of all Chavez has probably been the worst president of this south american nation. In which "democratic" nation has the goverment taken in to their hands the job of supplying food to the people. The "mercales" or popular markets created by Chavez take away opportunities and money from the private industry in Venezuela, plus most of the foodstuff that they sell comes from large roberies done to commercial containers from the private industry. Also the fact the this president is removing the autonomies that the public universities have here. In the ULA University of Los Andes which most of the careers are on the education level there is english education. Our president has posted a bill to remove this career and replace it with native idioms of our native americans here. I dont have a problem with the career of native idioms but why remove english education it takes away many opportunities to venezuelans who may want to or can leave the country to seek other job or life experiences, aside from this there is also the inclusion of doctrinage of the college students to the bolivarian and chavez and/or castro ideas of how to live which is being applied to al education careers in this country now imagine those teachers graduating from those curriculums will have to teach with a revised and upgraded curriculum that includes doctrinage from the kindergarden level (hows about that?) Also the fact that he is taking the land of anyone with a moderately sized farm or state. He seems to be demostrating the fact that whoever is succesful o rich is BAD and whoever is poor and maybe not totally instructed or enlightened is GOOD. I have known many prominent businessmen here in San Cristobal Tachira which is where I live and you can see that after he came into presidency almost overnight everything took a dive to the worst. There is talk of a law that will prohibit people under 18 to leave the country plus another bill to prohibit people under 30 from leaving the country also that from the year 2000 to now anyone born here doesnt only belong to their parents they also belong tho the state so suppose that the couple decides to separate the custody would be up for grabs between the father the mother and the sovereign state. Also he seems to hipnotize the people who follow him with his idiotic ideas if you could see the murals made to make the US look like a terrorist state and they depict the people of Venezuela fightihg out against the USA. its increidible the kind of power this dude has. Another, if its something I recognize is the fact that President Bush does not hesitate to attack a country if he sees fit to it. And we have this orangutan of a president screaming out loud that united states is this and that and that the american goverment is planning the assasination of Chavez, This paranoia is unheard of. Well thats all I can think of but I wish you could see how the people here that follow him act so stubornly plus the fact that they believe that the people in Cuba are in a paradise but I will leave that for later I will find a way for people interested to see pictures of those murals. My email es astro_33324@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.