The planned U.S. military expansion in Colombia has brought about plenty of criticisms throughout the region. One of the critiques mentioned at August’s UNASUR summit by Chilean president Michelle Bachelet was the secrecy behind the plan’s details. Neither the White House or Casa De Nariño have been willing to divulge the particulars of the militarization plan even though doing so would likely help get support among the region’s moderate leaders.The U.S. ambassador to Colombia hasn’t made the issue any easier, unfortunately. His unclear remarks boils down to the following: the details don’t have to be shown, but they could be.
Ambassador William Brownfield said that the military agreement with Colombia, which allows
U.S. troops the use of seven bases, is under review for publication in both English and Spanish, reported newspaper El Espectador.To quote some of the lyrics of “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears For Fears:
Likewise, he said the United States was not required to publish the text of the agreement because it is bilateral. However, he maintained that if one of the two countries should decide to do so there would be no problem, because in such a cooperation agreement "there is nothing hidden."
I can't stand this indecisionImage- BBC Mundo (Colombia’s Palanquero air base could soon see an increased U.S. military presence)
Married with a lack of vision
Online Sources- El Espectador, Colombia Reports, The Latin Americanist, sing365.com
2 comments:
From Clermont
Some of the countries in region are making a mountain out of a dust speck being egged on by Ego Chavez. If the US and Colombia reveal the contents of the treaty or not, it is unimportant. Chavewz is using this as a tool to distract attention from his dastardly deeds and mismanagement of Venezuela. The US will increase the presence of the soldiers to a maximum of 500 soldiers ...oh my God, that is such a threat ... and they will granted use of Colombian bases, they will not even be US bases. How many soldiers were already in the region at the Manta, Ecuador base? With the closing of the Manta base the US presence has decreased, bit the US was already in that area of the world. Given the US and Colombians team work to combat the FARC and drug traffickers, why the devil should they reveal any of the Cooperation Agreement's details. This is a non-story only inflated by South America's real belligerent and threat - the star of the Hugo Show. And if the
US and Colombia are working together to counter continued Chavez aggression, then there is another reason why they should not divulge anything. It seems to me that by not saying anything they make the bad guys (Hugo, FARC, druglords) sweat a bit. I love living in South America; it is like a live soap opera with all the wacky, wigged out characters that one sees on TV.
Wall Street Journal
The Emerging Axis of Iran and Venezuela
The prospect of Iranian missiles in South America should not be dismissed
By ROBERT M. MORGENTHAU
Mr. Morgenthau is the Manhattan district attorney. This op-ed is adapted from a speech yesterday at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.
SEPTEMBER 8, 2009
The Emerging Axis of Iran and Venezuela
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203440104574400792835972018.html
Some excerpts :
A recent U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) study reported a high level of corruption within the Venezuelan government, military and law enforcement that has allowed that country to become a major transshipment route for trafficking cocaine out of Colombia. Intelligence gathered by my office strongly supports the conclusion that Hezbollah supporters in South America are engaged in the trafficking of narcotics. The GAO study also confirms allegations of Venezuelan support for FARC, the Colombian terrorist insurgency group that finances its operations through narcotics trafficking, extortion and kidnapping.
In a raid on a FARC training camp this July, Colombian military operatives recovered Swedish-made anti-tank rocket launchers sold to Venezuela in the 1980s. Sweden believes this demonstrates a violation of the end-user agreement by Venezuela, as the Swedish manufacturer was never authorized to sell arms to Colombia. Venezuelan Interior Minister Tareck El Aissami, a Venezuelan of Syrian origin, lamely called the allegations a "media show," and "part of a campaign against our people, our government and our institutions."
***********************
Why is Hugo Chávez willing to open up his country to a foreign nation with little shared history or culture? I believe it is because his regime is bent on becoming a regional power, and is fanatical in its approach to dealing with the U.S. The diplomatic overture of President Barack Obama in shaking Mr. Chávez's hand in April at the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago is no reason to assume the threat has diminished. In fact, with the groundwork laid years ago, we are entering a period where the fruits of the Iran-Venezuela bond will begin to ripen.
That means two of the world's most dangerous regimes, the self-described "axis of unity," will be acting together in our backyard on the development of nuclear and missile technology. And it seems that terrorist groups have found the perfect operating ground for training and planning, and financing their activities through narco-trafficking.
The Iranian nuclear and long-range missile threats, and creeping Iranian influence in the Western Hemisphere, cannot be overlooked. My office and other law-enforcement agencies can help ensure that money laundering, terror financing, and sanctions violations are not ignored, and that criminals and the banks that aid Iran will be discovered and prosecuted. But U.S. law enforcement alone is not enough to counter the threat.
The public needs to be aware of Iran's growing presence in Latin America. Moreover, the U.S. and the international community must strongly consider ways to monitor and sanction Venezuela's banking system. Failure to act will leave open a window susceptible to money laundering by the Iranian government, the narcotics organizations with ties to corrupt elements in the Venezuelan government, and the terrorist organizations that Iran supports openly.
Prophesizing.com
Vicente Duque
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