Rumsfeld: Venezuela Build-Up Is Concern

[cal04]

The recent military build-up in Venezuela by U.S. nemesis President Hugo Chavez has other countries in the region worried that the weapons could end up in the hands of terrorists, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Monday.

"I can understand neighbors being concerned," said Rumsfeld, who is attending a meeting of Western hemisphere military leaders here this week.

Asked whether he believes Venezuelan officials' contention that the weapon buys are strictly for defense and not a threat to the region, Rumsfeld said, "I don't know of anyone threatening Venezuela — anyone in this hemisphere."

Venezuela's defense minister Gen. Raul Isaias Baduel, who is also attending the meeting, said Monday that his country's recent military spending spree wasn't "an arms race," despite Washington's protests.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061003/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/rumsfeld_chavez_1

[ShortnFiery]

1. That's worth a one star vote. n/t

[WCGreen]

2. I guess Canada and Mexico are really worried about US then...

[bluerum]

3. Yeah. I am sweatin bullets about Hugo and his band of peasants. nt

[stillcool]

4. so what he's saying is...

that this administration is out of this hemisphere?

[LiberalEsto]

5. Why is Rummy still allowed to run loose?

He belongs in a mental institution. Lucky for him Reagan shut down the nation's system of mental institutions years ago.

[Tight_rope]

34. That's what I've been wondering...he's a mad man!

[rurallib]

6. So Venezuela is next in line after Iran?

And what do Iraq, Iran and Venezuela have in common class? hint-It's black and slimy? No Alan Keyes did not run for congress in each one of these.

[Union Thug]

7. Translation: Bushie is gonna do some liberatin'!

Chavez had better get himself a Russian credit card and start charging air defense, fighters and bombers before Team GunBarrel Freedom comes to call.

[SenorSanchez]

27. I highl doubt the US would attack Venezula

Sure Chavez does ridicule us to no end, but there isn't a socialist/communist leader that doesn't. Venezula doesn't pose a direct threat to the United States except oil, but if new discoveries in the gulf keep poping up like they have been, it could be a mute point very soon. Bush won't be in office long enough to attack Venezula. Also Chavez has been sounding like a dicator as of late. He said he wants to stay in power until 2021 and current Venezula laws would only permit him to stay in power until 2012. Kinda scary.

[Peace Patriot]

32. Citations, please, SenorSanchez...

Please document the following:

1. That Chavez ridicules "us" (--as opposed to the junta we suffer under).

2. That Chavez ridicules us "no end."

3. That Chavez is a communist. (Yeah, I know you said "socialist/communist" leader. What "communists" are you talking about?)

4. How Venezuelan oil could be a "direct threat" to the U.S. (--you say it doesn't pose such a threat, but how COULD it? What is the potential threat?)

5. "Chavez has been sounding like a dictator of late." ???? (citation? evidence?)

6. That Chavez would want to stay in power against the will of the majority of Venezuelans (--who are free to amend their Constitution, by democratic vote, if they should want him to--are they not?). (Precedent: FDR, who broke the 2-term tradition, ran for and WON 4 terms. Will of the people.)

7. Why is this "kinda scary"? What is your evidence that Chavez would stay in power illegally and against the will of the people?

8. Citation for his desire to stay in office through 2021.

--------------------------

I keep seeing these very short, hit and run, posts at DU that are anti-Chavez, often repeating the "meme" of our war profiteering corporate news monopolies (and the Bush Junta) that Chavez is a "dictator" or "authoritarian" or (their favorite--always unattributed) "increasingly authoritarian." Yet I have seen NO evidence provided that this is true. And, in my own widespread reading on Venezuela, I have found no evidence for it. Zero. Zilch.

Please provide evidence. I'm aware that ANY politician can get big-headed, power hungry and "authoritarian" or "dictatorial." I am open-minded about that. (--and I mean ANY of them! I have no trust in politicians.) But, with all the evidence going the other way, as to Chavez, I would need some good evidence to change my opinion that he is NOT dictatorial (nor even anything close to it).

It is also, you know, insulting to the Venezuelan people to imply that they COULD be dictated to--by Chavez now, or by Chavez in the future. Again, I've read widely about this, and Venezuelans seem devoted to Constitutional government and the rule of law. It was the Venezuelan PEOPLE who stopped a military coup against Chavez, that had included dissolving congress and suspending their Constitution. They refused to put up with it! They poured into the streets by the tens of thousands. Would these folk consent to a dictator? Doesn't seem very likely to me. So, again, I need evidence. What makes you think that the Venezuelans are "sheeple" and would tolerate a dictator?

[reprobate]

36. The facts say otherwise. He's a fairly elected leader unlike ours.

The direct threat to us is not his oil directly, but the fact that unlike Saudi Arabia, who sells us it's oil and then loans it right back to us, thereby financing our spendthrift lifestyle and wars of imperialism, Venezuela sells us it's oil and then spends the money on the people of it's country and region.

The result? A constant outflow of dollars, with none coming back. Or as Greg Palast said, it's all about the flow.

And remember, nothing that the Mad George government says should be taken at face value. If their lips are moving they're lying.

[yodermon]

38. looking forward to more of your mute points. n/t

[Theduckno2]

8. "...despite Washington's protests." should be phrased:

...despite Rumsfeld's whining!

I swear that terra, terra, terra is the only thing that Bushco knows!

Maybe if Sen. Frist declares that Hugo is unbeatable, Rummy would back off. :)

[OKthatsIT]

9. WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP...STFU, Rumsfeld!

jeeeez...they really think we're as stupid as them in the WH.

GAWD, what an ass!

[BlueEyedSon]

Good idea... a 3-front war.

[rpannier]

21. Ummmmm...

You're obviously living in the Pre-Augustus Ceasar Bush mindset. 3 front??? Puh...leeze...

First Front: Iraq
Second Front: Iran
Third Front: Venezuela
Fourth Front: North Korea
Fifth Front: The American Middle Class

and the beat goes on.

I also left out "Lesotho and Oceania" But...as everyone knows... "We've always been at war with both those nations."
--With apologies to George Orwell.

[joemurphy]

10. More Horseshit

Typical consie bullshit. We're the most powerful nation in the world. The U.S. alone accounts for 48% of world military spending. And we have to be worried, scared, petrified that we're going to be overrun by immigrants, terrorists, Russians, Chinese, and now *shudder* Venezuelans!

And because apocalypse is always just around the corner, we have to shred the Constitution, thump our chests, scream like Tarzan, and initiate a "pre-emptive attack".

Oddly, these spastic bursts of paranoia always seem to rise to their glass-shattering crescendoes just before an election. It isn't going to work, Rummie. Venezuela is about as much of a threat to us as Grenada was in the Reagan years. No one listens to you any more. We all know you're full of shit.

[Judi Lynn]

11. Always the cut up, isn't he? Rumsfeld has threatened so many people

in this hemisphere already, shouldering the menacing burden with Condoleeza Rice.

Who can forget his fabulous threat that things could get crazy in a hurry if Bolivians dared to vote for Evo Morales as their President? He rattled that saber at them several times before they lost their minds and voted for him, anyway.

Right now, they're busy threatening Nicaraguans not to vote for Ortega. (They used to threaten Peruvians they'd better not vote for Ollanta Humala, and who can forget their very popular threat not to vote for that dangerously crazy Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in Mexico?)

So little time, so many threats. Sigh. Luckily, Don has a dandy sense of humor.

[0007]

16. 'Tis a sign that the US is losing its influence in most all counties south

of the border.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

12. ...but ENOUGH about this little congressional crisis....

:shrug:

[NVMojo]

13. wow, he's real credible ...idiot

[shance]

14. To Donald Rumsfeld it is........

n/t

[catnhatnh]

15. My only question is...

...why aren't Mexico and Canada stocking up???

[stepnw1f]

17. Ummm... Ok.... Time for the Straight Jacket (nt)

[Cha]

18. Like anyone gives a

flying fuck what rummy has to say.

[no_hypocrisy]

19. Which "neighbors"? Name some names . . .

[rpannier]

20. And those neighbors in the region would be????????

Colombia...possibly. There wasn't any country identified by either donnie 'the incompetant curr' rummy or U.S. Army Gen. Bantz 'henry blake' crapdick...I mean...craddock.
As to crapdick's assertion that it's 'mindless' and 'way over the top' to assume we're trying to overthrow Cavez, I have three points of order that even crapdick could understand:
1. We tried once before
2. Iraq...Iraq...Iraq
3. Iran

[silverweb]

23. There's one other....

Wasn't it Paraguay that we recently bribed into letting us put a base and troops there?

[arcane1]

24. indeed it was

[BrotherBuzz]

25. Yes, but Mariscal Estigarribia is secret so shhh

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=HAL20051124&articleId=1322

Oh, I think Rummy also has 'assets' at Eloy Alfaro airbase in Manta , Ecuador.

[Judi Lynn]

26. You're right! Very strategic location, too.

Here's a quick google grab:

Bolivia Worries About New U.S. Base In Paraguay

Congressman Cardozo to head a delegation to go to the border zone.

07/11/05 "El Deber" - - The installation of a military base on Paraguayan territory, some 200 kilometers from the border of Bolivia, created worry yesterday in the Legislature, to the point that a commission of the Lower House announced an investigation.

Willman Cardozo, Congressman for Tarija, on the border with Paraguay, where is located the largest reserves of Natural Gas in the country, urged the Government to open an investigation and solicit information from the Embassy of Paraguay in La Paz.

"The Executive must open an immediate investigation and the Ministry of Defense must assume it role for the preservation of the nation's integrity" demanded the Legislator, who is to lead the delegation to the border area next week.

The Chancellery stated it is unaware of the subject. "There is no specific information. Between Bolivia and Paraguay there is perfect harmony and cooperation, we have an agreement about energy cooperation", stated the Chancellor Armando Loayza.

The Director of the CBO (Central Workers Union) Luis Choquetijlla, denounced that "the United States has threatened us with a military intervention through friendly countries", with the result of controlling the Natural Gas riches of Bolivia.

For the military analysis, Juan Ramon Quintana, it is a very delicate subject that concerns the entire region. " We should be very worried, it is the most negative sign, dramatic in the fact that there exists the possibility of intervention in strategic areas linked to energy, a regional project" he warned.

Continued Quintana, the political aim of Washington in South America is to offset, utilizing the Southern Command, terrorism, narcotic trafficking, narco-terrorism, and popular radical governments.

THE BARRACKS (FACILITY) CAN HOLD 16,000 MEN

Washington has succeeded in establishing a bridgehead in Latin America. In Paraguay close to the Bolivian border and the Triple Borders, they constructed a base that will permit the landing of Galaxy airplanes and heavy armaments. Already 400 Marines have arrived but the base is prepared to house 16,000 military troops.

The Paraguayan Congress approved the entrance of US Troops in this country, with immunity, right of free transit and permanence for its soldiers until December 2006, automatically extendable.

This insinuates that the US, from this base, could control the Bolivian Natural Gas Reserves, especially the "La vertiente" fields, one of the largest in the World.
(snip/)

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9448.htm



That's one whopper landing strip, isn't it? Sheesh.
The Estigarribia airbase

September 23, 2005
US Military Establishes Base in Paraguay
Preparations made to "spread democracy"

by Benjamin Dangl


The Estigarribia airbase. photo: ClarinControversy is raging in Paraguay, where the US military is conducting secretive operations. 500 US troops arrived in the country on July 1st with planes, weapons and ammunition. Eyewitness reports prove that an airbase exists in Mariscal Estigarribia, Paraguay, which is 200 kilometers from the border with Bolivia and may be utilized by the US military. Officials in Paraguay claim the military operations are routine humanitarian efforts and deny that any plans are underway for a US base. Yet human rights gropsin the area are deeply worried.
White House officials are using rhetoric about terrorist threats in the tri-border region (where Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina meet) in order to build their case for military operations, in many ways reminiscent to the build up to the invasion of Iraq. <1>

The tri-border area is home to the Guarani Aquifer, one of the world's largest reserves of water. Near the Estigarribia airbase are Bolivia's natural gas reserves, the second largest in Latin America. Political analysts believe US operations in Paraguay are part of a preventative war to control these natural resources and suppress social uprisings in Bolivia.

Argentine Nobel Peace Prize laureate Adolfo Perez Esquivel commented on the situation in Paraguay, "Once the United States arrives, it takes it a long time to leave. And that really frightens me." <2>

The Estigarribia airbase was constructed in the 1980s for US technicians hired by the Paraguayan dictator Alfredo Stroessner, and is capable of housing 16,000 troops. A journalist writing for the Argentine newspaper Clarin, recently visited the base and reported it to be in perfect condition, capable of handling large military planes. It's oversized for the Paraguayan air force, which only has a handful of small aircraft. The base has an enormous radar system, huge hangars and an air traffic control tower. The airstrip itself is larger than the one at the international airport in Asuncion, the Paraguayan capital. Near the base is a military camp which has recently grown in size. <3>
(snip)

http://dominionpaper.ca/accounts/2005/09/23/us_militar.html

(I would imagine Reagan was involved in the early part of this acquisition.)

[knight_of_the_star]

22. That's funny

So he's saying he doesn't want to send his army after someone who can actually fight back?

[nolabels]

33. After getting his ASS burnt in Iraq with a home grown style of combat.

He must be feeling that 'once bitten twice shy' kind of thing. And of course they gota keep Rummy, he is about the only dude left in the cabal of buffoons that actually served his whole term in the military.

[Eugene]

28. "I don't know of anyone threatening Venezuela..." (except us)

Aside from U.S. support for a coup attempt, continued U.S. support for Chavez's
political enemies, and U.S. shipments of weapons components not requested or
authorized by the Venezuelan government, why should they worry?

[Judi Lynn]

29. Glad you reminded DU'ers of the US embassy smuggling in weapons

shipments without notifying Venezuelan authorities. That WAS exceedingly odd, and Venezuela most surely could have made a LOT of noise about it. If the situation were reversed, you can be sure we'd all never hear the end of it.

[krispos42]

30. Chaves is building a Kalishnikov factory. Oooo, scary

Yeah, anybody withing 300 yards of a Venezuelian solder might get shot by an AK-47. Obviously we must counter with 400-mile-range cruise missiles.

<yawn> wake me when Bush begins claiming Chavez has a uranium-enrichment program.

[Javaman]

31. I love this line...

"Asked whether he believes Venezuelan officials' contention that the weapon buys are strictly for defense and not a threat to the region, Rumsfeld said, ``I don't know of anyone threatening Venezuela - anyone in this hemisphere.''

That's right up there with, "I don't think anyone ever anticipated..." you can fill in the blank.

[Tight_rope]

35. Yeah...That's why I call him "RUMMY THE DUMMY"!

[Megahurtz]

37. The only concern I have is

the Build-Up of Rummy'sIdiots in the White House.

[bamacrat]

39. why is it only us and our allies can have armies.

Anyone else is supporting terrorism

[pacalo]

40. Oh, what a web we weave when we wage a wayward war for wealth.

With all the enemies this administration has created, it now has to constantly look over its shoulder for those who "might" supply the terrorists. Chavez doesn’t hate Americans; he hates this administration.

[Canuckistanian]

41. Rumsfeld making any statement at all is a concern

Why hasn't he resigned or been fired now that it's been PROVEN that he's a complete failure?

He has no business making any statements at all, given his track record of getting things consistently wrong.

[olddad56]

42. Total Bullshit, Unlike the US, Chavez has the respect of his neighbors.

[krkaufman]

43. Hey Rumf**k, insinuating Venezuela is working with terrorists *is* ...

... a threat, given what our government has done in recent years with other countries we've falsely linked to terrorism.

What a load of crap. And what a lapdog press for not calling Rumsfeld on his pattern of threats.