From nw_arizona_granny's post:
http://www.efenews.com/detalleFrontPage.asp?opcion=0&id=291495
Argentine police focus on preventing disturbances at summit
Posted on Friday, October 28, 2005 at 9:47am
The security chief for the upcoming Summit of the Americas said
Thursday that Argentine officials' focus was on preventing disturbances
during the gathering of 34 heads of state and government. Carlos
Pardal, a high-level Argentine Federal Police official, said security
planners contemplate the possibility of clashes with demonstrators out to
protest the presence of U.S. President George W. Bush during the Nov.
4-5 summit in Mar del Plata, a resort city some 400 kilometers (249
miles) south of Buenos Aires.
Full Story at the link
From Laura Mansfield's translations:
According to the Washington Times, US President George W. Bush is expected to attend the Summit of the Americas, which will be held November 4-5 in Mar el Plaza, Argentina.
Argentina Reportedly Intends To Shoot Down Suspect Aircraft During SOA
"We must pray to God that no attack occurs," remarked Foreign Minister Rafael Bielsa 10 days ago. To prevent a possible terrorist attack during the presidents' summit, to be held in Mar del Plata during November, the government appears determined to diminish that divine or fortuitous margin. And it would even be willing to take the risk of violating the law to do so: It is said to have already informed the United States that, if necessary, /it would shoot down suspicious airplanes/ flying without permission over the security perimeter within which the presidents, including George Bush, will be moving.
The possibility of shooting down hostile planes was one of the topics dicussed on Tuesday, at a meeting held by Defense Minister Jose Pampuro and officials from the US Pentagon with that country's ambassador to Buenos Aires, Lino Gutierrez. Official sources told that the first details of "Operation Shoot-Down,"a preventive contingency plan that the United States had been demanding for months, were agreed upon there.
Participating in the meeting besides Pampuro were the secretary of military affairs, Jaime Garreta, and the planning secretary, Martha Zilli. Just as the Argentine officials had committed themselves to the plane downing option, the Pentagon expressed gratitude for the gesture by offering "intelligent" missiles (more accurate than those of the Argentine Air Force) with which to diminish the risks entailed by that mission. It was claimed that there will be /between six and eight "air-to-air" missiles/, meaning that they willl have to be launched by airplanes. It is believed that they will be brought from the United States on a ship in mid-October. No technical details were revealed concerning the missiles.
Although the details will be adjusted within the coming weeks, the missiles /will be stored in the A4 fighter-bombers/ of the Argentine Air Force, which will be deployed at the Tandil military base, 160 km from Mar del Plata. Until now, the report noted, those planes, the most modern in the Air Force, would only be used to detect intrusive aircraft and, at the most, to "push them" out of the Summit area. It is a system similar to that being used today on the country's northern border when the illegal entry of any plane is detected.
At present, in Argentina, there is /no law authorized the downing of airplanes/, as there actually is in neighboring countries such as Brazil, Peru, Colombia, and Venezuela: each one of them with current concerns of greater magnitude than any of Argentina. That lack of legislation means that the Argentine Government would be assuming a high risk in its decision because, by carrying it out, it could be committing a crime, as official sources admitted privately. They explained: "We shall see. For now, we are taking the measures to be prepared." The Peronist senator, Jorge Capitanich, author of the only bill on permission to down planes, told that /"the Air Force is by no means authorized today/ to make a decision of that nature."
Participating in the Summit of the Americas, to be held in Mar del Plata between 4 and 5 November, besides Nestor Kirchner, will be 34 presidents from the continent, including that of the United States. George Bush's presence, confirmed "99.9%" according to Ambassador Gutierrez, led the Argentine Government to maximize the security measures. The mega-operation has been explained to US officials, who have been approving its organization. A total of 31 million pesos will be invested for the security alone.
Planned for the land operation is the mobilization of 7,500 agents from the security forces, who will have the support of colleagues from the rest of the continent, including a massive commission from the American CIA. For the maritime operation, there will be a strong presence of Argentine Navy ships in the Mar del Plata port, together with an aircraft carrier and the naval escort that the US delegation will deploy. The operation for air control, which already had military planes stationed in Tandil, would now add the intelligent missiles and the plane downing option. Also to be mobilized is a three-dimensional radar system, to be located on the outskirts of Mar del Plata, which will make it possible to control a radio at a distance of 400 km, thus enabling it to to detect intrusive ships.
Who will make the decision for shooting down, in the event that it is considered necessary?
The defense minster would have to /designate an official/ in charge of that before the Summit begins. But, to activate the missiles, there will have to be compliance, in advance, with a series of measures aimed at preventing errors. Those measures are similar in all the countries in which there are laws of this type: the defense planes must make sure that the suspected aircraft is not listening in on their radio announcements, and that their flight plans or destination cannot be identified.
The Air Force reportedly has been assessing this option for weeks., Sources from the sector revealed to that the original intention was to store six ground-to-air missiles /in the Mar del Plata golf course/ in front of the naval base and next to the Hotel Sheraton, where the US delegation will be staying. That plan was discarded due to the /fear of a negative reaction from the Mar del Plata residents/, already quite concerned about the Summit. The Pentagon had already promised to send to Mar del Plata the six ground-to-air missiles, which are too expensive for the Argentine budget. Each one of those missiles is valued at 1.5 million pesos.
This is not the first time the government has indicated its position favoring the option to destroy illegal aircraft. During November of last year, Pampuro himself had said that they would promote a law to permit the downing. Nevertheless, in the government's eyes, that law would have to be subject to a radar system installation plan that would allow for a real control over Argentine airspace: a plan that is just in the first phase of its implementation. When making the announcement of that project, Pampuro had claimed that "the Air Force is prepared to act, and is already working on the matter." Now, the plan is real, and Mar del Plata could be a witness.
The 'Downing' Option: a Debate Waiting Its Turn in Congress
The option of shooting down planes that are flying through Argentine airspace without authorization is the topic of a debate that has been delayed in Congress since November of last year. Meanwhile, it is an option /that is not authorized/ explicitly by any law.
The only bill that the government would authorize for making that decision was the one promoted by the PJ (Justicialist Party) senator from Chaco, Jorge Capitanich, who was Eduardo Duhalde's cabinet chief. Thus far, it has received the government's disinterested consideration.
If that bill is approved, then any "illegal aircraft" actually "could be categorized as hostile, and subject to a destructive measure," which could only be ordered by "the president of the nation or an authority delegated by him." Previously, it was necessary to prove that the suspected plane /could not be identified/ by its registration, that /its flight plan could not be detected/, and that the pilot /did not respond/ to the warnings.
The bill is inspired by the one implemented by the Brazilian Government in July 2004. There are also downing laws in Peru, Venezuela, and Colombia. In the case of Brazil, its implementation was achieved after an arduous debate, because many sectors considered the downing /"a death sentence without a previous trial,"/ as it was described by the legislators opposed to it.
But the situations are quite different. Brazil has 95% of its territory controlled by high-tech radar systems. Argentina, on the other hand, /has not yet controlled even 10%/ of its skies. That shortcoming prevents it from knowing exactly what type of planes fly through the Argentine skies and, as Defense Minister Jose Pampuro has remarked, it is the reason prompting the government to distance itself from Capitanich's bill. Will it change its position in view of the Summit's proximity? The sources queried by admitted that, although the government would like it, the Congress is nearly at a standstill today owing to the proximity of the elections on 23 October.
All these bills are being considered, at least in South America, not to combat terrorism, but rather /the drug traffic/. It is suspected that it is small illegal planes that are bringing most of the drugs to Argentina by crossing the northern border. A single example will suffice to give a sense of the phenomenon. In 2004, the Air Force installed a test radar system in Resistencia, in Chaco. For three months, for a period of six hours a day and six days a week, it detected /215 planes with false registrations/, as Capitanich's bill claims.
The implementation of the Brazilian downing law has already had its repercussions in Argentina. As was told in August by Gabriel Abboud, from the Counter-Narcotics Secretariat, that law has affected the drug trafficking routes, and caused an increase in the cocaine arriving in Argentina. And that is why they have not pulled the trigger in Brazil to date.
Chavez, the Shifty One
According to the organizers of the Summit security operation, President Hugo Chavez is one of the most sensitive targets to watch. And at his recent meeting in Washington, Chavez confirmed to Nestor Kirchner that he will attend the Third Summit of Peoples, which also will take place in Mar del Plata on the same date.
The Summit of Peoples was called by the social organizations of the entire continent, and already has a date and location: on 4 November, the opening day of the principal Summit, in the World Champion city of Mar del Plata. One of the organizers is the Nobel Peace Prize winner, Adolfo Perez Esquivel, and they hope to attract about 10,000 persons. Chavez apparently has not only promised his presence, but also that /he will attempt to convince Kirchner to accompany him/, as those in the government suspect.
That option could change the security diagram. But it is not the only detail that concerns the organizers. Between 4 and 5 November, leftist groups are preparing a /Counter-Summit/ that will mobilize on the streets of Mar del Plata.
A Sergeant in the Sights
The Summit security plan includes a reinforcement of the preventive measures throughout the entire country, which has already detected the visit to Argentina by groups of Islamic missionaries, members of a congregation called Tablighi Jammat. Some of those missionaries were delayed in Laprida, in Buenos Aires Province, and also in Cordoba. What no one imagined is that the missionaries, who are attempting to recruit followers of Islam, would target such a heterogeneous audience. Apparently, one of those attending its meetings was a member of the military. /And it almost cost him his job./
Defense Ministry sources consulted by said that a sergeant-adjutant who professes the Muslim religion /was seen visiting members of Tablighi Jammat/. The sergeant was assigned to the Army Intelligence Service, and, as punishment, was sent to the Fourth Paratroopers Brigade in Cordoba.
(Another report in today's edition of by special correspondent Luis Ventos adds the following: "At a distance of 160 km from Mar del Plata, Tandil has begun to feel the negative effects of the police mega-operation being prepared in Mar del Plata for the Summit of the Americas. Armed robberies, many committed with a high degree of violence, have depicted a landscape contrasting with the mountain peacefulness
"The chief of the Tandil Police Department, inspector commissioner Fabian Pagge, confirmed this to claiming that, 'the insecurity has exceeded the ordinary limits, and it has not yet been reflected in the statistics.' He said that the Summit has mobilized provincial and even federal police forces, which have had to transfer to Mar del Plata, 'leaving various areas without the usual reinforcements' for patrolling.
"Commissioner Pagge added: 'However, there has not only been a transfer of police to Mar del Plata, but also of criminals to Tandil. Harassed by so many police, they seem to have sought new horizons.' That would explain some recent incidents that surprised the mountain city. In the residential golf district, unknown persons entered the house of a businessman, threatened his family, beat his son, and stole 40,000 pesos from the strong-box.")
(Description of Source: Buenos Aires Clarin in Spanish -- nationalist, tabloid-format daily; highest-circulation newspaper)
For more translations and news on terrorism, visit
http://www.lauramansfield.com