Posted on 10/22/2007 8:38:02 PM PDT by LibWhacker
NAPLES (Reuters) - Ecuador's leftist President Rafael Correa said Washington must let him open a military base in Miami if the United States wants to keep using an air base on Ecuador's Pacific coast.
Correa has refused to renew Washington's lease on the Manta air base, set to expire in 2009. U.S. officials say it is vital for counter-narcotics surveillance operations on Pacific drug-running routes.
"We'll renew the base on one condition: that they let us put a base in Miami -- an Ecuadorean base," Correa said in an interview during a trip to Italy.
"If there's no problem having foreign soldiers on a country's soil, surely they'll let us have an Ecuadorean base in the United States."
The U.S. embassy to Ecuador says on its Web site that anti-narcotics flights from Manta gathered information behind more than 60 percent of illegal drug seizures on the high seas of the Eastern Pacific last year.
It offers a fact-sheet on the base at: http://ecuador.usembassy.gov/topics_of_interest/manta-fol.html
Correa, a popular leftist economist, had promised to cut off his arm before extending the lease that ends in 2009 and has called U.S. President George W. Bush a "dimwit".
But Correa, an ally of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, told Reuters he believed relations with the United States were "excellent" despite the base closing.
He rejected the idea that the episode reflected on U.S. ties at all.
"This is the only North American military base in South America," he said.
"So, then the other South American countries don't have good relations with the United States because they don't have military bases? That doesn't make any sense."
See that button to the far left below the "REPLY" box? Has the markings "S-P-E-L-L" on it?
Use it!
Aaah, the good old days! Long gone I'm afraid. I can think of six of these jet-setting tinhorn dictators who would have had "mechanical problems" with their flights as they ran around rallying with each other.
The Chinese already control the Panama Canal.
Correa may want to consider Hightstown, NJ, as it has the largest Ecuadorian population per capita of any city in the US.
My vote goes to Hope, Arkansas. No need to build any buildings for the base, just use those 11,000 FEMA trailers left over from Katrina.
After the the S. American countries refuse to make a deal, there were significant reductions in aid. Instead, SA turned to China to provide that military aid and training.
Bush quietly rescinded that policy, but it opened the door.
Homestead Air Force base, lots of available empty housing, and we could use the Ecuadorian air force as target practice.....errrrr aggressors. And Charge them rent.....Then send them back to send this little wannabe commie packing.
“The Chinese already control the Panama Canal.”
No they don’t.
Panama owns and controls the Panama Canal.
There are Zero, None, nada, PRC connected in anyway to the Panama Canal.
Hutchison Whampoa operates two, dos, 2 ports here. Hutchison Whampoa is under British management with Panamanian blue-collar workers. They are doing a fantastic job.
How many times does this have to be repeated?
“...destabilize Ecuador, and who knows...” Maybe the Chinese will establish a base.
How’s that gonna play in Peoria?
How much foreign aid are we sending to Ecuador? It should be reduced to zero, and as another noted, the base razed to the ground.
Now found on the ‘web, the ‘reception’ is better, which does me no good in my RV while on the road.
www.radiohcjb.org
And by the 'good ol' days' I take it you mean the days when the US government interfered in the internal affairs of other nations without being questioned by those bothersome people called US citizens, even if said nation didn't represent a threat to our borders.
Ah how much better if the citizens of the respective states would just obey without question eh? Well it works for me. Bring US troops home from Ecuador, North Korea, and the 70% of rest of the world they're spread about needlessly
South Korea I mean. ‘Fighting’ the North Koreans 50 years later you know...
That wasn’t my post.
I don't think US citizens shouldn't question actions of THEIR government.
Holy crap. Forgive me but there are no other words to describe that statement.
I question my government every day on almost everything. They take our money to pay for the crap they spend it on, it's not only your right, it's your responsibility to question the actions of the 500+ hacks in Washington. What was one of the key purposes of the First Amendment if not to protest against government?
San Francisco Bay. Let them put a base there.
Of course, you should never question President Hillary. If you do, we’ll all die.
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