Chavez tells military to be prepared for conflict

[jimmy olsen]

Oh noes!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32355082/ns/world_news-venezuela/

Chavez tells military to be prepared for conflict
Venezuela's leader ups rhetoric as U.S. plans to boost presence in Colombia

AP
CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez told his military to be prepared for a possible confrontation with Colombia, warning that Bogota's plans to increase the U.S. military presence at its bases poses a threat to Venezuela.

Chavez has issued near daily warnings that Washington could use bases in Colombia to destabilize the region since learning of negotiations to lease seven Colombian military bases to the United States.

"The threat against us is growing," Chavez said Sunday. "I call on the people and the armed forces, let's go, ready for combat!"

The former paratroop commander said Colombian soldiers were recently spotted crossing the porous 1,400-mile border that separates the two countries and suggested that Colombia may have been trying to provoke Venezuela's military.

"They crossed the Orinoco River in a boat and entered Venezuelan territory," Chavez said. "When our troops arrived, they'd already left."

Colombia denies incursion
In Bogota, Colombia's foreign ministry issued a news release denying reports that soldiers crossed into Venezuela, after a revision of troop movements by the Colombian military.

Chavez said Venezuela's foreign ministry would file a formal complaint and warned Colombia that "Venezuela's military will respond if there's an attack against Venezuela."

Chavez said he would attend this week's summit of the Union of South American Nations in Quito, Ecuador, to urge his Latin American allies to pressure Colombian President Alvaro Uribe to reconsider plans to increase the U.S. military presence.

"We cannot ignore this threat," Chavez said during his weekly radio and television program, "Hello President."

Chavez also halted shipments of subsidized fuel to Colombia, saying Venezuela should not be sending cheap gasoline to an antagonistic neighbor.

"Let them buy it at the real price. How are we going to favor Uribe's government in this manner?" he said.

No reason to be concerned?
Colombian officials say Venezuela has no reason to be concerned, and that the U.S. forces would help fight drug trafficking. The proposed 10-year agreement, they claim, would not push the number of American troops and civilian military contractors beyond 1,400 — the maximum currently permitted by U.S. law.

Tensions between the neighboring South American nations also have been heightened over Colombia's disclosure that three Swedish-made anti-tank weapons found at a rebel camp last year had been purchased by Venezuela's military.

Chavez has accused Colombia of acting irresponsibly in its accusation that the anti-tank rocket launchers sold to Venezuela in 1988 were obtained by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. Sweden confirmed the weapons were originally sold to Venezuela's military.

Chavez denies aiding the FARC. He claims the United States is using Colombia as part of a broader plan to portray him as a supporter of terrorist groups to provide justification for U.S. military intervention in Venezuela.

Chavez said Sunday that diplomatic relations with Uribe's government "remain frozen" even though he ordered Venezuela's ambassador to return to Colombia more than a week after he was recalled.

© 2009 The Associated Press.

[Valmy]

Yeah because that is in our best interests...fucking destabilizing South America.  That is just what America needs.

Anyway whatever lies Chavez needs to spin to stay in power don't interest me at all.

[Josquius]

Oh noes?
I'd have thought this would be a big Timmy . You get to see all the nice flashy American weapons and get rid of Chavez.

Accordingly I doubt Chavez is that much of a idiot.

[jimmy olsen]

Oh noes?
I'd have thought this would be a big Timmy . You get to see all the nice flashy American weapons and get rid of Chavez.

Accordingly I doubt Chavez is that much of a idiot.

It was sarcasm Tyr, I don't think "Oh Noes" has ever been used seriously.

[DontSayBanana]

If I were the paranoid type, I'd say that he's probably doing all this "oh no, the big, bad US is harassing us" stuff to get a bigger country to step in and do the dirty work for them- they do seem to play pretty buddy-buddy with Russia.

[Valmy]

Accordingly I doubt Chavez is that much of a idiot.

What do you base those doubts on?  General Euro Chavez dick sucking?

[jimmy olsen]

If I were the paranoid type, I'd say that he's probably doing all this "oh no, the big, bad US is harassing us" stuff to get a bigger country to step in and do the dirty work for them- they do seem to play pretty buddy-buddy with Russia.

And how the hell are the Russians going to be able to project enough power in the area to matter?

[Darth Wagtaros]

I've seen Red Dawn.  They can use Mexican and Cuban mercenaries combined with Panamanian narco-troops to invade Texas and distract us.

[DontSayBanana]

And how the hell are the Russians going to be able to project enough power in the area to matter?

Simple. They're not. But no matter how much credit I give the Venezuelans, they're still almost certainly too batshit-crazy to notice that Russia hasn't been successful as a superpower in the past 20 years or more. All Chavez probably cares about is that we're too close to his little banana republic, so we must want it. Russia is nowhere in close proximity, so they can't possibly have territorial ambitions for Venezuela.

[Ed Anger]

I've seen Red Dawn.  They can use Mexican and Cuban mercenaries combined with Panamanian narco-troops to invade Texas and distract us.

Powers Boothe will save us.

[Darth Wagtaros]

What's the Spanish word for Wolverines?

I've seen Red Dawn.  They can use Mexican and Cuban mercenaries combined with Panamanian narco-troops to invade Texas and distract us.

Powers Boothe will save us.

[Ed Anger]

What's the Spanish word for Wolverines?

I don't dirty my mouth with such a debased language.

[derspiess]

What do you base those doubts on?  General Euro Chavez dick sucking?

I don't think Chavez is an idiot, either.  Crazy perhaps, but not an idiot.

[Ed Anger]

What do you base those doubts on?  General Euro Chavez dick sucking?

I don't think Chavez is an idiot, either.  Crazy perhaps, but not an idiot.

Chavez is getting fat.

[Valmy]

I don't think Chavez is an idiot, either.  Crazy perhaps, but not an idiot.

Well I guess.  The things he does only seem idiotic from the perspective of Venezuela's interests not his.  I suppose he is a genius at keeping his own celebrity and power going.

Anyway there is one reason why he will always bark and never bite and that is because Venezuelans will not tolerate a war, especially an aggressive one.  It is simply not that sort of country or culture and he is never likely to have the sort of iron fisted dictatorship to make them do something they really do not want to do.