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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Venezuela arms against US 'Empire' |
| 2009-08-07 |
| Venezuela prepares for a major military deal with Russia in the event of a possible state of armed confrontation with 'the US Empire.' Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez spoke of plans to purchase a large procession of tanks and other military gear from Russia in the face of growing 'threats' from US presence in neighboring Colombia. "We're going to buy several battalions of Russian tanks," he told reporters on Wednesday, heralding a new era of frozen ties with its western neighbor over reports that give evidence to increasing US-Colombia diplomacy aimed at building military bases in the South American state. Venezuela has already embarked on an incremental military spending, developing the country's warfare grid with the purchase of billions of dollars in arms from Russia. The leftist Venezuelan leader warned his pro-US Colombian counterpart, Alvaro Uribe, that his intentions to station 'Yankees' - - a reference to US troops-in South America could trigger a 'war' in the region. He further accused Uribe of being a US 'puppet.' Colombia has rejected Chavez's claims outright, saying that a ten-year lease contract granted to the US would not add to its military forces due to limitations stipulated in their accord. Bogota also maintains that such measure serves a 'rightful' purpose meant to defend the country against the oldest South American communist militia, the FARC. The country has been grappling with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) for over 45 years and alleges that the leftwing leader of Venezuela supplies the anti-government militants who live off drug trade and other means of illegal operations. Tensions have been running high between the two Hispanic nations over the recent developments sparked by the strained mutual discord and compounded by the US-Colombia military agreement in order to place around 1,400 fully-armed soldiers with military equipment in South America. Chavez went on to toughen his stance on Colombian government, threatening to halt 'all' business transactions with the neighbor. The two countries have trade pacts topping an annual $7 billion. A number of Latin American states, such as Brazil, have backed Chavez's bid and called upon Colombia to call off the establishment of 'foreign bases in the region [that] look like relics of the Cold War'. Cuba has also voiced its support for Chavez, saying that "Venezuela isn't arming itself against the sister nation of Colombia, it's arming itself against the (US) Empire." |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #4 OOgo, meet the SFW! http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/dumb/cbu-97.htm |
| Posted by: Rob06 2009-08-07 16:04 |
| #3 3 of the Sukhois are now flyable. |
| Posted by: .5MT 2009-08-07 12:31 |
| #2 Spend, Spend, Spend! When people are starving in the streets they can eat tanks! |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2009-08-07 11:00 |
| #1 Love that Reset™ thing. |
| Posted by: DoDo 2009-08-07 10:16 |