Venezuela May Sell Its U.S.-Made F-16s to Iran

Drudge

[Billthedrill]

Not all of them but a lot. Naval officers too, one of whom was a college classmate of mine. They were considered too loyal to the Shah. The real violence that followed the takeover wasn't widely publicized but it included the execution of Khomeini's friend Sadegh Ghotbzadeh, reportedly executed by a firing squad starting at the knees up. Nice folks.

[Constantine XIII]

:(

[No2much3]

I am glad to see someone get's it!

Chavez is hitting us where it hurts the most; uncertainty in the markets.

This has nothing to do with Chavez military strength, it would be gone in 48 hours if we wanted. This is loud words so sheep run scared. He has done this several times in the past year so his voice is getting less powerful each time he yells.

One day, America will step on the neck of Chavez and it will all end.

No2

[TChris]

Iranian pilots in old, second or third-tier, last-generation American technology that our flyboys know inside and out? Sounds like skeet shooting to me.

[samadams2000]

Good thing we had that DISABLE chip built into them.

[mikeus_maximus]

Exxxxcellent. I'm sure they're not aware of the remote detenation device we install in all of them.

[mountainlyons]

Chavez is a con man and they say Bush is big business.

[PsyOp]

That would be a great pay per view show.

It would be a very short one, too.

[clintonh8r]

There was a time when we would have already arranged Mr. Chavez's assassination.

[Finalapproach29er]

we don't have the guts to do it.

[SaltyJoe]

"F-16s into pilotless bomber drones"

Iran doesn't need F-16s to do that.

Osama Bin Laden didn't need terrorists to high jack airlines to topple the WTC and attack the Pentagon (and the attempted White House target). The money that OBL had/has is enough to buy or charter an entire fleet of airliners fully fulled using his credit alone (from one of his false shell company) if he so desired. But OBL didn't charter empty flights. Instead, his terror cells murdered innocent civilian passengers.

Why?

OBL's intention was to start a clash of civilizations. Though he caused a lot of friction, the 9/11 attacks didn't produce the intended response OBL desired.

Chavez wants to sell useless F-16s to Iran.

Why?

Because those who are inspired and most likely possessed by Satan want the world of men to rip each other to shreds. When the hearts of men refuse to murder their fellow brother (and other such sin), then Satan can only spread misery...like drive up the cost of living (price of oil). Jesus IS won, He's always been in control, and He operates on His Time schedule--not ours...and certainly not on Satan's!

Very plausible outcome: Chavez will not get the outcome he intends. Neither will those who hold Iranians in a choke hold. The world of men really don't want to war, and sin is losing it's appeal. Economically, the free world is throwing off the yolk of imperial criminal syndicates. We don't have to buy energy or products from those who make it their agenda to pervert, dominate, and murder.

And who will the buy the cocaine grown in South America when our border is getting tighter and tighter? Europe? Chavez' paranoia is always sniffing the end (even if he's managed not to sniff his continent's capital crop). He's probably selling the F-16s just to keep as much money in his pocket as possible. He knows that Americans won't launch a first strike and he doesn't have any need for nuclear energy capabilities (given Venezuela's oil) to make himself a "WMD" target for a first strike.

So, Chavez isn't a military threat...just an global sized economic thug. His F-16s are useless even if they were well maintained. He needs the money to keep the corruption going. Venezuelans are even tired of their own domestically grown criminal activity and it takes a lot of money to keep the cops paid off. His biggest fear is probably his own people going on strike again since that would be his only real threat.

When the next national strike happens, he's going to run as fast as he can (perhaps to Cuba), and before he runs, he'll sell off everything he can scrap. He'll probably even sell all the "nationalized" equipment he stole in the first place. Therefore, the rest of the world (including the now globalized Chinese) had better hold Chavez's wealth in a guarded bank account to keep him from laundering/transferring that wealth away from judicial authorities that will return the stolen wealth after Chavez runs.

For example:

1 Chavez steals/nationalizes a European/American oil company.

2 Sensing that his people have had enough of him, he liquidates the oil company by selling it to China.

3 Rather than China risk losing their investment, they buy what Chavez sells, but he has to keep his "profit" in a Beijing bank where it won't leave for (pick a number) of years.

4 Venezuelans go on strike and Chavez retires in Cuba while trying to take as much of his wealth with him as possible...except for what the Chinese still hold of his attempted "profit" in their bank.

5 The new and legitimate authority negotiates with Chinese and the former owners of the oil company for a just settlement. This puts the Chinese in the "good guy" category for returning stolen property (or compensating the original owners) and it gives them an "in" to the South American market for things other than the low quality military equipment other communists have pawned off onto suffering nations. Also, they don't lose their money because they still have it in their own Chinese bank. To fork over the cash would risk losing the entire investment into one of Chavez's foreign accounts.

I bring up "Chinese" but it could be any other nation willing to risk investment in Venezuela.

[proud_yank]

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[proud_yank]

F-16's that have probably been sitting in a hangar for a few years, covered in dust and barely touched, much less flown, in the hands of some Iranian who has an out of date manual (probably written in spanish) and almost no flight time? Not too worried about it.

Them getting jets is one thing. Eventually though, they'll need maintenance and parts, which they won't be able to get easily or at all.

[olde north church]

I believe Pat Robertson was quite insightful in his resolution for handling the "Chavez Question".

[Chode]

the little rat prolly figgures it's better to sell them, than have them SHOT DOWN IN FLAMES by Booosh and the Yanquees...

[Donald Meaker]

Better is to load the clandistine parts network with parts that give off stray signals, and can be shut off upon getting a coded signal.

Back during the Phillipine insurection, a young officer used to accidently drop .45/70 rounds, where they would be picked up by the guerillas. Course he had filled them with dynamite instead of black powder...

The guerillas tried to compensate by cleaning their rifles, over and over. Never figured it out.

[demkicker]

Not to mention that we're experts in knowing how to shoot them down.

[Fruitbat]

Why did they get upset if they were called Arabs?

[Farmer Dean]

His election might force Congress to secure the border.

[Farmer Dean]

It would sure be a white knuckles flight,poorly maintained aircraft with a long flight over water and no prospect for recovery at sea.