Iran's Quds force in Venezuela, Latin America: Pentagon
(AFP) – 5 days ago
WASHINGTON — Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps has stepped up its presence in Latin America, especially in Venezuela, according to a Pentagon report to Congress.
The Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force "maintains operational capabilities around the world," said the report on Iran's military power, released Tuesday by the Defense Department.
The force "is well established in the Middle East and North Africa, and recent years have witnessed an increased presence in Latin America, particularly Venezuela," the report said.
"If US involvement in conflicts in these regions deepens, contact with the IRGC-QF (Quds Force), directly or through extremist groups it supports, will be more frequent and consequential," it said.
The report said Iran's top priority is to ensure "the survival of the regime" and that Tehran has ambitions to position itself as a regional power, while expanding its presence on the world stage.
The elite Quds force, which serve under the authority of the supreme leader Ali Khamenei, has been accused in connection with a 1994 attack on a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates last year accused Iran of engaging in "subversive activity" in Latin America.
Venezuela, which accused Washington of meddling in Latin America, has denied the accusations and defended its ties with Iran as focused on economic cooperation.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jvXOYLKMt3NWFER4xXMlDPSTmhBw~~~~~~From "Before It's News:"
Iran boosts Qods shock troops in Venezuela Pentagon predicts U.S. clash with Islamist paramilitary
Contributed by Anonymous (Editor)
Thursday, April 22, 2010 12:05
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Iran is increasing its paramilitary Qods force operatives in Venezuela while covertly continuing supplies of weapons and explosives to Taliban and other insurgents in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to the Pentagon's first report to Congress on Tehran's military.
The report on Iranian military power provides new details on the group known formally as the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), the Islamist shock troops deployed around the world to advance Iranian interests. The unit is aligned with terrorists in Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, North Africa and Latin America, and the report warns that U.S. forces are likely to battle the Iranian paramilitaries in the future.
The Qods force "maintains operational capabilities around the world," the report says, adding that "it is well established in the Middle East and North Africa and recent years have witnessed an increased presence in Latin America, particularly Venezuela."
"If U.S. involvement in conflict in these regions deepens, contact with the IRGC-QF, directly or through extremist groups it supports, will be more frequent and consequential," the report says.
The report provides the first warning in an official U.S. government report about Iranian paramilitary activities in the Western Hemisphere. It also highlights links between Iran and the anti-U.S. government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who has been accused of backing Marxist terrorists in Colombia.
• Click here to view the report. (PDF) and HERE to read more
http://beforeitsnews.com/news/35398/Iran_boosts_Qods_shock_troops_in_Venezuela_Pentagon_predicts_U.S._clash_with_Islamist_paramilitary.html:wtf:
~~~~~~22 April 2010 - 18H55
Iran's Quds force in Venezuela, Latin America: Pentagon
AFP - Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps has stepped up its presence in Latin America, especially in Venezuela, according to a Pentagon report to Congress.
The Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force "maintains operational capabilities around the world," said the report on Iran's military power, released Tuesday by the Defense Department.
The force "is well established in the Middle East and North Africa, and recent years have witnessed an increased presence in Latin America, particularly Venezuela," the report said.
"If US involvement in conflicts in these regions deepens, contact with the IRGC-QF (Quds Force), directly or through extremist groups it supports, will be more frequent and consequential," it said.
The report said Iran's top priority is to ensure "the survival of the regime" and that Tehran has ambitions to position itself as a regional power, while expanding its presence on the world stage.
The elite Quds force, which serve under the authority of the supreme leader Ali Khamenei, has been accused in connection with a 1994 attack on a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates last year accused Iran of engaging in "subversive activity" in Latin America.
Venezuela, which accused Washington of meddling in Latin America, has denied the accusations and defended its ties with Iran as focused on economic cooperation.
http://www.france24.com/en/20100422-irans-quds-force-venezuela-latin-america-pentagonFrom the Pipeline News, "The Right News....Right Now"!
Pentagon Study Sounds Alarm - Iranian Al-Quds Force Presence in Venezuela Increasing
http://www.pipelinenews.org.nyud.net:8090/readerimages/chavezred.jpg
April 21, 2010 - San Francisco, CA - PipeLineNews.org - According to a just released DOD report made available to Congress, the al-Quds force, the elite core of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, has markedly strengthened its position in the Venezuelan stronghold of dictator Hugo Chavez.
Al-Quds has been deeply involved in Islamic terrorism for decades including the 1983 bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut and the 1996 bombing of Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, which was home to many American defense workers in the region.
The declassified report is available through the Washington Times http://media.washingtontimes.com/media/docs/2010/Apr/20/Iran_Military_Report.pdf> which details that, "it is well established in the Middle East and North Africa, and recent years have witnessed an increased presence in Latin America, particularly Venezuela."
It is believed that as American involvement in the region increases, so will "contact" with al-Quds.
Unbelievably, despite ample public record of the increasing threat posed by Venezuela http://www.pipelinenews.org/2009/GAO-Study-Suggests-Obama-Buddy-Hugo-Chavez-Is-The-King.html, New York Times, Venezuela Buys Missiles With Russian Loan, http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2009/09/14/world/international-uk-venzuela-chavez.html and PipeLineNews, Hugo Chavez: Friend of Holocaust Deniers and Drug Dealers, http://www.pipelinenews.org/2007/Hugo-Chavez-Fascist-Friend-Of-Holocaust-Deniers-Drug.html> especially as aided by Iran, Secty. Defense Gates downplayed its importance, saying that the information in the report regarding the rogue South American dictatorship was not a threat, "I certainly don't see Venezuela at this point as a military challenge or threat."
http://www.pipelinenews.org/index.cfm?page=chavez4.21.10.htm(Love that photo! It shows the world how scary he REALLY is! I'm getting the hell out of here! Run! Hide! Which is it, is he a lazy, corrupt slob, as some dirtbags say, or is he a violent savage? Halp!