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2007-03-11 Caribbean-Latin America

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Posted by Steve White 2007-03-11 00:00|| || Front Page|| [5 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 "Could Hugo grab the Dutch West Indies?"

He could try....

(Not that I think the Dutch would be the ones doing anything about it.)

Posted by Barbara Skolaut">Barbara Skolaut 2007-03-11 00:08|| http://ariellestjohndesigns.com/page/15bk1/Home_Page.html]">[http://ariellestjohndesigns.com/page/15bk1/Home_Page.html] 2007-03-11 00:08|| Front Page Top

#2 Thats what England, France, and Germany are for. i.e. Dutch handle Banking-Financing, [other] Euro(s) handle the firepower. OTOH, TAIPEITIMES > CHINA INVADING THE CARIBBEAN, vv ANTI-TAIWAN-OTHER CONTRACT, BIDDING WARS/COMPETITION.

Posted by JosephMendiola 2007-03-11 00:29|| 2007-03-11 00:29|| Front Page Top

#3 LOL! It's just the sort of thing Huggie might try when the money is gone and the Mercals are out of chicken for 3 weeks. I would laugh and laugh, knowing that Hugs will f**c it up somehow.

Posted by Shipman 2007-03-11 00:32|| 2007-03-11 00:32|| Front Page Top

#4 Shouldn't he wait for a democratic president?

Posted by gromgoru 2007-03-11 01:08|| 2007-03-11 01:08|| Front Page Top

#5 JosephMendiola, the Dutch would be in a lot of trouble if they depend on the French and Germans to project power into the Western hemisphere. They simply do not have the air lift or sea lift to get even their relatively weak forces to the West, let alone be able to stage a counterattack. For that matter it is doubtful if the Brits could deal with Faulklands again.

Posted by RWV 2007-03-11 03:43|| 2007-03-11 03:43|| Front Page Top

#6 If Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez made a grab for the Dutch West Indies (specifically the islands of Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire), could the Dutch really do anything about it?

It is common knowledge that Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire are suffering under a brutally oppressive, racist colonial Dutch regime which openly practices aparthied. If he makes a move on the islands, I suspect Hugo will do it with the full support of the UN and our donk friends in the beltway. Nothing would surprise me today's geo-political environment.

Posted by Besoeker 2007-03-11 04:05|| 2007-03-11 04:05|| Front Page Top

#7 This is all idle conjecture. Even if Hugo is too damned stupid to know it, his generals know that seizing a piece of Dutch sovereign territory in the Caribbean would be the same as an attack on Rotterdam and would call the mutual defense provisions of NATO into force. He'd be looking at one or more U.S. carrier task forces steaming off his coast within 72 hours and any of his military stupid enough to attack them would be quickly dead. For him to seize Aruba or any other Dutch island is the fastest way I can think of to have him reach the Allende ending: committing "suicide" by shooting one's self 20+ times with an automatic weapon.

Posted by Mac 2007-03-11 06:49|| 2007-03-11 06:49|| Front Page Top

#8 I'd guess the V navy's officer corps would pull the plugs on their ships, knowing that USN/AF aircraft would vaporize them and the embarked troops the moment the Vs entered international waters.

Posted by mrp 2007-03-11 09:31|| 2007-03-11 09:31|| Front Page Top

#9 Aruba has offshore banking, and lots of people with money own vacation property there. Curacao is (was?) a big transshipment point for petroleum, and I think they have refineries as well. Bonaire.... Bonaire has fantastic scuba diving, and of course there are the ruins of the old salt-production slave huts and the native thorny scrub.... Were I Mr. Chavez, I'd see the conquest Bonaire as low risk/high reward -- and really grow Venezuela's reputation as a scuba diver's heaven.

But that's me.

Posted by trailing wife 2007-03-11 15:39|| 2007-03-11 15:39|| Front Page Top

#10 However, assistance from NATO allies, especially the United States and Britain, would give the Dutch an edge, and a clear shot at regaining their Caribbean islands.

Ahh, yes. Yes, I can see how it might give the Dutch an edge. Yeeeesss...

/holding hand under chin and nodding thoughtfully

Posted by Excalibur 2007-03-11 16:26|| 2007-03-11 16:26|| Front Page Top

#11 Ahh, here is some of the edge those Strategy Page folks might want to have mentioned, viz the "forward operating location" split between Beatrix International Airport and Hato International Airport. I suspect this tips the numbers somewhat in favor of the Dutch:

http://www.ciponline.org/facts/fol.htm

Aruba and Curaçao

Defense Department and Customs Service aircraft have been operating at Curaçaos Hato International Airport and Arubas Reina Beatrix International Airport since April 1999.

The Curaçao section of this Caribbean FOL is to support two large, two medium and six small aircraft, with as many as 200 to 230 temporarily deployed operations and maintenance personnel. The Curaçao site is currently hosting Air National Guard F-16s, Navy P-3 and E-2 Airborne Early Warning planes, U.S. Air Force E-3 AWACS and other U.S. aircraft. The presence in Aruba will be smaller, with two medium and three small aircraft, about fifteen permanently assigned staff and twenty to twenty-five temporarily deployed operations and maintenance personnel.4

A U.S. Air Force Site Activation Task Force identified some of the improvements that would be required for the FOLs long-term operation. These included upgrades and pavement improvements to ramps and taxiways and construction of maintenance and operations facilities.

Posted by Excalibur 2007-03-11 16:59|| 2007-03-11 16:59|| Front Page Top

#12 Sorry to spam your comments... According to GlobalSecurity.org those F-16s were being used for drug interdiction and were not armed. I suspect this has changed:

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/curacao.htm

Posted by Excalibur 2007-03-11 17:05|| 2007-03-11 17:05|| Front Page Top

23:55 JosephMendiola
23:27 RD
23:23 tu3031
23:21 RD
23:11 whatadeal
23:09 C-Low
23:09 DMFD
23:07 RD
23:07 whatadeal
23:02 RD
22:43 Zhang Fei
22:41 whatadeal
22:41 Zhang Fei
22:24 Barbara Skolaut
22:11 Tom Waits
22:10 Delphi2005
21:59 USN, ret.
21:44 Anguper Hupomosing9418
21:10 USN, ret.
21:02 USN, ret.
21:00 Bunyip
20:59 USN, ret.
20:58 Eric Jablow
20:53 Eric Jablow