Posted on 05/17/2006 6:23:04 AM PDT by pissant
Venezuela has allowed its intelligence service to become a clone of Cuba's while it shelters groups with ties to Middle East terrorists and allows weapons from its official stockpiles to reach Colombian guerrillas, a senior U.S. official said yesterday.
Those were the principal reasons why the Bush administration blacklisted Venezuela on Monday, saying it has failed to fully cooperate on counterterrorism, Thomas A. Shannon, assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, told editors and reporters at The Washington Times.
"It's our hope now that we've gotten their attention," he said of the Venezuelans, who are banned from purchasing U.S. weapons because of the listing. "We hope that we are going to be in a position where we can talk with them and look for how we can improve [our] cooperation."
An immediate impact of the decision is that Venezuela will be unable to buy spare parts from the United States to maintain its aging fleet of U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets. A senior military adviser to President Hugo Chavez said yesterday that Venezuela might now sell the planes to another country, possibly Iran.
It was not clear what Iran might do with the planes, because it is also subject to U.S. sanctions.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Fine. DIA. Though not all of the CIA is a cesspool. Only the liberal wing.
He's Latin America's Khadaffy Duck. Like Mallomar, he needs a "treatment". Perhaps when he tries shipping those F-16s..
Yes he is. Though he's in our region, not Africa.
I'd be willing to bet the left in this country would vote for him if he were eligible to run in the dem primary.
Yes, I may have understated it.
And the europeans love him.There's no accounting for taste. Or intelligence, apparently.
It's been a long time since europe had either.
I say we help Uribe -- our best buddy in Latin America -- wipe out FARC in Colombia, which would surely give us an excuse to go next door and take out their benefactor, Chavez. Roll over Fidel while we're at it.
Coups destabilize a country causes refugees leads to more destabilization as other countries trust America even less.
At this time you have twp very pressing problems.
1)The Long War
2) Illegal immigration.
The Long War is a war between opposing ideologies you could say but it is apart from Afghanistan and Iraq more a war of covert action and overt action such as propaganda.
Where America is seen as a stabilizing force not a destabilizing one. Its not only South America that is watching America the new emerging countries in the Far East, Central Asia and the Caucasus, are also watching.
We have troops and aid units operating in many of these countries where America is selling her self as a stablwerlising influence.
Illegal Immigration.
You have a major problem, there is talk, and at the moment that is all it is of guarding your borders sealing them off, but what about trying to stop the problem at source.
Working with the governments of South America encouraging programs that help there citizens even if it smacks of socialism.
After all third world and second world countries need some form of socialism before they move onto capitalism if only to create a stable structure, education and health system to work from.
Coups and more coups only encourages destability in a already unstable region creating more illegal immigrants.
Also if you feel that your country has the right to interfere within a region you regard as your hemisphere, then does that not entitle the citizens of your hemisphere the right to come live with you.
A clean sweep.
It would still leave the commies in Bolivia but the Brazilians could take care of them. They're the ones with the investments in natural gas there. We've got oil and the threat of terrorism coming from Venezuela. And Fidel, well, he's Fidel, and only 90 miles away. Florida would belong to the GOP for eternity.
I disagree. The coup to overthrow Allende allowed Pinochet to stabilize that country. Our support for a strongman in El Salvador kept the commies at bay, as did our support for the Contras in Nicaragua. All 3 of these are in far better shape today than they would have been if we let the red tide roll.
You presume that there was some period of time when central and S. America was a bastion of stability. It never was.
Well, then he's even dummer than I thought he was.
you mean "dumber"? LOL
Cuba will become the 51st state.
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