Posted on 03/03/2008 3:34:08 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Venezuela threatened to declare war on neighbouring Colombia last night, raising the prospect of the U.S. being drawn into conflict in South America.
Venezuela's Left-wing president Hugo Chavez ordered ten tank battalions to the Colombian border and put war-planes under emergency stand-by.
The tension follows Colombia's decision to send its army to strike against anti-government guerrillas hiding in the jungles of Ecuador.
The surprise attack - launched without Ecuador's permission - killed Raul Reyes, a top commander in the Left-wing Colombian rebel group Farc, and about 16 of his men.
President Chavez yesterday closed the Colombian embassy in Caracas, warning that any similar entry into his country's territory after the rebels would be "cause for war".
The U.S. would almost certainly come to Colombia's aid if oil-rich Venezuela launched an invasion. But Washington-based diplomats played down the brouhaha and said it might be no more than bluster from Chavez, an outspoken opponent of the U.S.
However, Pentagon sources said Colombia had been warned not to allow its hunt for Farc rebels to cross Venezuela's borders.
Over the last few weeks President Chavez, who is very close to new Cuban President Raul Castro, has been in negotiations with Farc leaders and has persuaded them to hand over some of the hostages they have been holding for years.
While the US has bitterly deteriorating relations with Venezuela it has recently improved ties to Colombia and has troops in that country helping in the fight against the massive illicit cocaine trade.
President Chavez moved quickly yesterday to close the Colombian embassy in Caracas and to declare on national television that Colombian President Alvaro Uribe was a "criminal."
He said the killing of the rebel leader was a "cowardly murder."
President Chavez said that any similar incursion into Venezuelan territory after the rebels would be seen as a "cause for war."
Ecuador's President Rafael Correa has called the killing of the rebels inside his country "scandalous."
According to Pentagon sources the US has warned Colombia not to let its military venture into Venezuela in pursuit of Farc guerrillas and there is no indication that they have done so.
The US is hoping that President Chavez – known for making extravagant claims – is on no more than a sabre-rattling exercise with no real intention of going to war.
The US should have intervened the day Chavez was elected. I never understood why the CIA didn’t take care of this guy. It was apparent from the day he took office that he was going to cause this kind of trouble.
No, I don’t list Columbia as our best ally. With your same reasoning, I suppose you’d place Australia and England below Columbia? Give Columbia another decade or so and then I might move them above the mid-mark.
The CIA has a lot of honorable and good men and women. It also has a lot of traitors. I wish the good guys could boot the bad ones.
Israel did handle its neighbors by itself in 2 wars,
Wrong.
Israel cannot wage a major war without massive U.S. logistical support.
Six Day War:
Yom Kippur War:
In the Yom Kippur War, Operation Nickel Grass dwarfed the Berlin Airlift.
Nickel Grass: The airlift that saved Israel
***********
"Amateurs talk about strategy, dilettantes talk about tactics, and professionals talk about logistics."
Colombia is a great country which absolutely loves the US and has supported us in the efforts to end the drug war. I’ve been there a number of times and love the place.
Why, because many of the people of that corrupt country smuggle hundred of tons of dope into America as a matter of routine, and because they import illegal aliens and violent gangs into America?
The US is hoping that President Chavez – known for making extravagant claims – is on no more than a sabre-rattling exercise
Personally, I hope that he is deadly serious and primed for action.
I would not give those tanks 48 hours. Our planes will decimate them if they cross over into Columbia.
I stand corrected, except the part about the Liberty.
Very true. The other side of that is that the Soviets were providing similar logistical support to the Egyptians and Syrians.
With predictable results.
Has chavez bought any TOR-M1’s on his buying spree with russia?
They want us spread thin!
Please read Post #21.
Speculated? That's your argument?
... the U.S. has an opportunity to get rid of Chavez once and for all.....all they have to do is stir the pot a little.
I think that most of the people down there wouldn't shed many tears to find out that Chavez's time is up, either.
Are you suggesting Colombia is not a corrupt country, and that the corruption has not been directly linked to the highest levels of their government AND military?
And we once belonged to England. Things change.
“Ya know, it’s been speculated that 1/3 of the entire Colombian budget is stolen every year and ends up in the wrong hands.”
And you think this is unusual in latin america, or most of the world for that matter?
What % of the US budget do you think ends up in the wrong hands?
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