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 ...
Ohh, don’t forget Sean Penn, Alec Baldwin, and the rest of the Film Actors Guild.....
I would expect their task force to consist of both carriers, all the amphibious vessels (which could carry 2200 Royal Marines), four Type 23 FFGs, two Type 22 FFGs, four Type 42 DDGs and at least two, if not four of their SSNs.
That's a potent force...but as I said, would need to be augmented by a US Nimitz carrier for fleet air to ward off the SU-30s.
Now, there are already two Daring Class very effective PAAMS area air defense DDGs floated, one of which is in sea trials. Either of those would also make a very effective addition to this task force, on the order of the capability of a Burke DDG,
Unfortunately true
Heh heh heh, I wondered how long it would take before more well qualified candidates would be nominated. I agree.
‘He would use the SU-30s to intercept the UK fleet as it passes. They have plenty of range to do that.’
If Britain was to place Typhoons on a certain caribbean island, Sierra Leone, Ascension Island and Port Stanley, their 900m range would provide complete cover for the task force moving south. If we don’t fancy that option, it’s Suez and round cape horn. If he’s brave enough to put his SU’s up against Typhoons out of Port Stanley and a brand new Type 45 destroyer parked up off the islands, he’s a braver man than I thought. While his jets are being shot down, half a dozen of our cruise missile subs including astute will be making big holes in every runway, military building and oil refinery he has.
‘Before that, if there were ar repeat taking of the Islands, he would probably station men, material, aircraft, and potentially subs down there prior to the British arriving.’
I’d like to see him take it with the current garrison stationed there and the nuclear subs circling it! We can hop Typhoons down there via Ascension and air-to-air refuelling in less than two days. Rapier anti-aircraft missille systems are set up all over the falklands and as they can track B2 bombers, the SU’s should be easy meat! :)
I do hope he tries something silly. . . .
You think Britain would fight for the Falklands today ?
I have no doubt that either way, the Brits will retain the Falklands. I do believe that Chavez will ultiamtely have to be put down. Too much wealth and a growing willingness to use it as a thug and a bully.
Yes.
‘Their sorry butts are already Muslim controlled and so are some of our sorry butts in Congress.’
British Army - 350 muslims. US Army 15,000 muslims. . . . . .
Britain total muslims - 1.6m. America, just african-american converts to islam - 2.1m Total muslims in America - anybodies guess.
Yes, I still think we would.
Be interesting to see the various political follow on comments from Britain on this story
I am sure they will get posted here
if you’re referring to Iran, the Enterprise and the rest of the Third Fleet can keep them bottled up behind the straits of hormuz... Nothing like a Carrier Battle Group to ruin a mohammedan potentate’s scheming plans...
I think it’s about time we got our money’s worth from those B-2s the Air Scouts have been playing with for so long.
Send a couple down their to take out their new birds on the ground — along with any other interesting hardware that seems to be laying around.
And when they squawk — make them prove it. We don’t need JDAMs for this. Good old fashioned iron bombs would be enough.
‘You think Britain would fight for the Falklands today ?’
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_of_the_Falkland_Islands
60 million barrels of oil under the Falklands says we will! :)
Is it being drilled for yet ?
Growing up in fla in the sixties was awesome. I tell my wife what we did as kids and she has a hard time believing it!
Somebody needs to shoot this b*****d.
If we are still in Iraq, and then going into Iran, concurrently faced with hot spots with Venezuela and North Korea, and maybe through in Syria...it would tax us significantly and that is when I would expect China to make its move on Taiwan and elsewhere, potentially with Russian assistance.
The way to avoid that is to take them down individually...almost pre-emptively, so that they cannot build an overly taxing situation by acting in concert. Chavez is giving us every reason (IMHO) to start with him.
‘Is it being drilled for yet ?’
No, it will be a few years yet before it starts hitting the barrels. A couple of years ago the Argentine govt offered every resident of the Falklands US $1m each if they would accept joint British/Argentine sovreignty. It was turned down unanimously by the 3000 islanders. . . .
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