Posted on 09/02/2007 1:51:41 PM PDT by Jeff Head
In a new outburst of antiwestern sabre-rattling, President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela has threatened Britain with “revenge” for the Falklands war of 1982. The belligerent Latin American leftist warned last week that his recent build-up of sophisticated Russian and Iranian weapons would be used to destroy the British fleet if it attempted to return to the South Atlantic.
Speaking on his weekly television show Alo Presidente (Hello, Mr President), Chavez denounced what he described as Britain’s “illegal occupation” of the Falklands and repeated his call for a regional military alliance against Britain and the United States.
“If we had been united in the last war, we could have stopped the old empire,” Chavez said, as he gesticulated to maps showing how Venezuelan aircraft and submarines would intercept British warships. “Today we could sink the British fleet.”
Chavez has often expressed support for Argentina’s claim to the Falklands, but his latest broadside was notable for both its antiBritish vitriol and its unprecedented threats. He declared that British history was “stained with the blood of South America’s indigenous people” and demanded revenge for the “cowardly” sinking of the General Belgrano, the Argentine cruiser.
Western diplomats have long grown used to harangues from Chavez, who announced this weekend that he would negotiate with guerrillas holding dozens of hostages in Colombia, including three US contractors and Ingrid Betancourt, a French-Colombian abducted as she campaigned for president in 2002. But US and British officials have recently become more concerned by his willingness to lavish billions of dollars from Venezuela’s soaring oil income on military capabilities.
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
Since Argentina is now being governed by sane people what the hell is Chavez doing even bringing this up
Maybe tomorrow he will talk about retaliating for Grenada
That is a lot closer
Venezuelan Refueling Aircraft Pictures
Most of those pictyres were taken in 2006 and 2007.
I fail to see how Chavez could possibly project anywhere near as much power geographicaly as Hitler was able to. And I seriously doubt he has anywhere near as suicidally motivated terrorist network as Bin Laden had.
For all his posturing, he needs the US far more than we need him. Even if he was stupid enough to cut off his heavy crude supplies to the US (75% of Venezuelas exports), we would make up the difference from places like Canada, Nigeria and Mexico. It would cost us, to be sure, but Hugo would be hard pressed to make up those sales to other countries. Our energy department has wisely been preparing for such an event. His country would wither long before we would truly feel an impact. His and his parliments’ heads would be on posts within a month.
The man has nothing but a goofy face, a monochromatic wardrobe and a populist rant that plays well with the kiddies. Sorry, he is a joke and not worth our time. The President is playing this game exactly correct in my opinion.
Iran is a real threat, however.
The problem with that is that the Brits claimed the Falklands 1n 1833, ten years after the declaration of the Monroe Doctrine, and we did nothing about it in the almost 150 years between then and the Argentine junta's stupid attack.
“I fail to see how Chavez could possibly project anywhere near as much power geographicaly as Hitler was able to”
Then why is Hezbellah setting up shop there?
Give me an E-3 and some F-22s or some E-3s and F/A-18s with slammers or any combination of the above aircraft, and I can turn those KC-135s into flaming debris. Escorts don't matter. I don't care how good those Venezuelan jocks think they are or how good the SU-30 is (and it is really, really good) they haven't been to Top Gun or the Fighter Weapons School at Nellis. They, like the F-16 before them, will find themselves to be "Raptor Training Aids."
Some of the Sea Harriers are still ground run at the deck handling school. There is no way that they can be made operational. The capability and infrastructure to get all the systems back up and operational again are long gone. The number of airframes used for this purpose is tiny. You can buy Sea Harrier airframes on E-bay. One of the retired Sea Harriers is currently in the US and awaiting first-flight in private hands. It is owned by an ex-USMC AV-8 pilot.
The whole point is moot anyway. There is no way that Argentina wants to go back down the path of a military intervention in the Falklands. The Argentine forces simply don’t have the capability to sustain an invasion of the Falklands and maintain it.
Yikes!!! That is truly scary.
‘North Atlantic’. The Falklands is in the South Atlantic. The rules have changed on the then territorial limiations of the treaty. The rules were changed for the NATO forces to operate in such places as Afghanistan.
Jeff, no Typhoons down in the Falklands. The last unit to get the Typhoon will be the Falklands flight to replace the Tornado F.3s. The F.3s are due to be retired in 2010. Stanley was demilitarised a long time ago. RAF Mount Pleasant was built some 30 miles to the east of Stanley in the mid 1980s.
Now, if they were facing 12 SU30MK2's that might be a different story...but such a gamble by the Venezuelans would probably be suicidal, and at this point in time, even more so for the Argentines. I doubt seriously that the current Argentine government would even consider such a gambit so the entire issue is probably moot in any case.
Sorry to hear that about the Sea Harriers. There is a gap for the UK then in terms of fleet air until they get the F35s.
Maybe we will. But its not a sure thing. Perhaps whoever is president at the time might decide that coming to Britains beck and call is getting a little old, given the current Brown governments exploitation and creation of anti President Bush sentiment.
France has had its adventures in Haiti, and the US MArines assisted there.
British bail out in Basra means that Brown was betting that the US will lose Iraq.Look at the timing of the withdrawal, just before the Sept 15th report is due from Patraeus. Thats not an endearing posture that would be likely to warrant US assistence for Britain against Chavez.
I believe that Gordon Brown will go down in history as the worst Prime Minister Britain has had in the modern era.
The fuel and sidewinders were loaded in Britain, the Satlint was ongoing.
And Argentina has never forgotten it.
Allowing Chavez to screw over a NATO partner is a course only a complete idiot would set. So...it's only going to happen if a Dem is in office. Otherwise, the U.S. fleet sails, and the Venezuelan Air Force and Navy end up on the bottom of the Atlantic.
Boo-hoo for them. First, they never should have screwed with a NATO nation without expecting other NATO nations to help Britain. Second, they should have taken Reagan seriously when he tried to mediate the situation.
I don't harbor any ill-feelings toward Argentina, but anyone who wants to have wounded pride because we sided with Margaret Thatcher over a bunch of junta thugs has another think coming.
“..the Venezuelan Air Force air-to-air refueling asset..”
There is a flying Citgo station?
Four of them...I think.
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