RICE INITIATES A NEW VENEZUELA POLICY

[Say_What]

This is not good.

<clips>

The campaign became public three weeks ago, during the Senate confirmation hearings of Condoleezza Rice, who made numerous references to President Chavez, at one point calling him a "negative force in the region." The comments prompted strong rebukes from Democratic and Republican members who were concerned that the State Department position on Venezuela amounted to meddling with a democratically elected and popular government. Republican Senator Lincoln Chaffee called the remarks "disrespectful" to Chavez and "to the Venezuelan people" who have supported the administration in a half dozen elections and referendums since 1998.

Still, Secretary Rice's words set off a series of behind-the-scenes activities against the Chavez administration. Earlier this month, the State Department sent letters to South American leaders asking them to side with Colombia against Venezuela in a dispute between the two countries. Even former Colombian ambassador to Venezuela, German Bular Escobar, noted that the US pressure was not helpful to the dispute-resolution process.

In addition, State Department officials lodged a "secret"--but publicly leaked--protest with Russia for selling rifles to Venezuela as part of a standard security acquisition. In a not-so-subtle quote in today's Washington Times, an unnamed "senior U.S. official" claims that Chavez is "consolidating a dictatorship. It's a Cuban-style dictatorship. He's arming loyalists and setting them lose to intimidate people at the city block level."

Less recognized, but perhaps more sinister, was something that occurred four days prior to the Rice hearings. On January 14th, three major newspapers ran reports on Venezuela--on the same day and with the same premise--arguing that the State Department needed to step up its activities in Venezuela.

http://www.globalexchange.org/tours/venezuela/2848.html

[CottonBear]

1. This is very bad.

:scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared:

Isn't Venezuela buying some new fighter jets from Asia or Europe?

[Say_What]

6. From Brazil actually, more about that here.....

<clips>

...Venezuela is also currently in the process of negotiating a potential $470 million arms deal with Brazilian aircraft manufacturer, Embraer, the world's fourth-largest aircraft producer. In his weekly television show Aló Presidente, Chávez spoke of purchasing Brazilian made Tucano fighter jets, claiming that the US had "delayed the delivery of spare parts for Venezuela's existing F-16 fighters," leaving him with little choice other than to search out new potential arms manufacturers.

The United States has recently expressed "concern" for bi-lateral arms deals between Russia and Venezuela, which include the sale of 100,000 AK-47 assault riffles.

Although the agreement has yet to be finalized, Venezuela has expressed interest in acquiring 12 AMX-T planes and 24 Supertucano fighter jets from Embraer. These aircrafts are currently employed by Brazil to monitor drug trafficking in the Amazon basin. According to Brazilian officials, this purchase may lead to closer bi-lateral cooperation in the development of "a military surveillance system to monitor the Orinoco and Amazon regions."

...The Brazilian President also congratulated Chávez on his recently handling of the diplomatic impasse with the Colombian government over what has come to be known as the Granda Affair.

http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=1505

[Webster Green]

2. These evil bastards have a lot on their plates...

Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, Haiti...

They have used up the armed forces. How long till the war-chimp starts lobbing nukes?

[okieinpain]

5. he's going to have too, because the young bushlers only want

to go to the war rallys, not be in one.

[Maat]

3. It has come to my attention that at least a few retired military officers

believe that Venezuela will be the next country that the Booooshies will attack .... because they have great oil reserves, just like Iraq. And Secretary Rice harbors negative feelings toward the Russia. Does she want to reenact the Cold War, with the U.S. monkeying around with the internal affairs of a country on one side, and Russia monkeying around supporting the other side? Hmmmmmmm....

[FlyByNight]

4. Certainly wouldn't be the first time...

the US 'meddled' with the affairs of another democratically elected government. I wonder if a "Salvador Option" is being considered for Venezuela in the future?

[Say_What]

7. Over 30 US-backed major coups in LatAm since WWII

and that's only in THIS hemisphere.

<clips>

Guatemala in 1954. Chile in 1973. Nicaragua in the 1980s. The list is long of efforts by the United States to overthrow democratically elected governments in Latin America or destabilize governments it disliked.

Now, as new details emerge of the April 12 coup d’état that ousted President Hugo Chávez of oil-rich Venezuela for 48 hours, critics are asking whether the United States or its Central Intelligence Agency played a role.

“In the post-World War II era, of the 30 or so major coups in Latin America, there hasn’t been one in which the CIA has not been involved,” said Larry Birns of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, a liberal think-tank in Washington. “Why should this one be different?”

U.S. officials emphatically deny they played any part in Chávez’s temporary removal from power and say they fully support democracy in Latin America. Still, Venezuelan and U.S. authorities have launched investigations into a possible U.S. role in the upheaval.

http://www.natcath.com/NCR_Online/archives/053102/053102j.htm

[applegrove]

8. You'd think they'd be busy enough what with Nuclear proliferation & all

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

9. The US-- meddle in South America?

[scarletlib]

10. I may be wrong but I think the time is now past that the US will

be able to meddle so freely in South American affairs. Venezuela, Brazil and other of these countries seem to have awakened politically. I think they will be much more active in the future and will seek their own interests which will not necessarily be those of the US.

Bravo to them.