Washington campaigns to frustrate sale of Russian weapons to Venezuela (Blood Boiler Alert)

Washington campaigns to frustrate sale of Russian weapons to Venezuela - 02/12/2005

The operation complies with all international regulations. However, the US State Department lodged a formal protest with Russia in which demonizes President Chavez as a leftist agitator and a Castro-styled dictator. Moscow and Caracas rejected allegations.

As anticipated by PRAVDA.Ru in December last year, Washington is campaigning to frustrate the sale of Russian weapons to Venezuela--a large operation estimated in $ 5 billion--despite the deal complies with all international regulations. On Thursday, the US State Department made public that it was "troubled" by Russia's military cooperation with the South American nation, suggesting that the arms could be used to aid leftist guerrillas in Latin America.

The arms pact announced last year by Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez would give the South American OPEC member 100,000 AK-47 automatic rifles and 40 MI-35 helicopters. Venezuela is also evaluating Russian MiG-29 fighters as possible replacements for the old US F-16s.

The US opposition to the operation provoked reactions in Moscow and Caracas. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Interfax that the arms delivery ?is a matter of cooperation between the two countries¦. "Our bilateral cooperation does not go beyond any international norms and obligations. There is nothing to comment on," the minister was quoted as saying.

Interfax also quoted Moscow officials stating that Russia evaluates Washington's statements as unfounded and biased. "Moscow was surprised to hear about the U.S. State Department's concerns in relation to the possible shipment of Kalashnikov assault rifles from Russia to Venezuela," the source is quoted as saying.

In Washington, the Venezuela's ambassador to the United States, Bernardo Alvarez, said there appeared to be a campaign to discredit his country under way featuring critical media coverage attributed to unnamed officials. "It's clear that there is an orchestrated campaign. I don't know why, but the thing is to create the impression that we are a hostile country, a terrorist country, a pariah state," Alvarez said.

In fact, the US say Chavez is trying to prop up leftist uprisings across the continent to spread his leftist ?Bolivarian Revolution¦ to other nations. Washington has been also hostile to Chavez-s ties with Castro-s regime Cuba and his personal friendship with the Cuban leader.

"Venezuela's plans to purchase various types and large quantities of weapons are extremely troubling," said State Department spokesman Lou Fintor. "Our concerns about these weapons purchases are heightened by Venezuela's tolerance for groups such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the Colombian terrorist group the National Liberation Army, and others."

However, the US has repeatedly failed to probe allegations and not a single country in Latin America has supported US statements. What is certain is that since 2000, Washington has spent up to $3 billion in "military aid" to Venezuela-s neighbour, Colombia, to support an unsuccessful offensive against leftist rebels. It is also a fact that almost 1,000 US officers are training Colombian armed forces, in a move that breaks the balance of military power in the region. It is also a fact that the Washington- backed Colombian army has close links with the notorious far right death squads, accused of crimes against humanity by the United Nations, the Organization of American States and, paradoxically, by the US Congress more than once. It is also a fact that tons of US weapons have been found in possession of these death squads after being used to butch poor farmers in Colombia’s jungles.

Apart from this, the US media quoted recent intelligence reports stating that Chavez is moving to an authoritarian regime and to a closer cooperation with Cuba. Allegations about Venezuela’s authoritarian regime, come only six months after President Chavez accepted and won a recall referendum against him, validated by the OAS and the Carter’s Institute, among other international observers.

As for the cooperation with Cuba, PRAVDA.Ru is in position to confirm that about 20,000--5,000 more than the figure quoted in CIA’s report--Cuban doctors and teachers are working in Venezuela in health and alphabetization programs. Cuba has similar deals with other nations in Africa and Latin America, which do not attract the attention of US spies.

US State Department statement came only a week after Venezuela announced its intention to shift its oil sales strategy to diversify oil exports away from the United States in favor of other nations in Latin America and Asia. It is also rumoured that Venezuela plans to sell its oil refineries in the USA because they are unprofitable. Oil rich Venezuela is world's fifth oil exporter and responsible of 15% of US crude imports.

From aljeezeera

Chavez: US is a terrorist state

Sunday 13 February 2005, 2:29 Makka Time, 23:29 GMT

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has branded the United States a "terrorist state" while rejecting Washington's criticism of Caracas for its arms purchase from Russia.

Chavez, a fierce critic of US President George Bush and the US-led war in Iraq, on Saturday brushed aside US opposition to the agreement to buy 100,000 automatic rifles and about 40 military helicopters from Moscow.

"One has to ask whether there was transparency in the invasion of Iraq. The world knows President Bush lied openly about Iraq having chemical weapons," Chavez said.

"They keep on bombing cities, killing children, they have become a terrorist state," he said.

Venezuela, the world's fifth largest oil exporter, is a key crude supplier to the US. But relations soured after Chavez came to power in 1998, vowing to fight poverty with a self-proclaimed revolution.

US officials have accused Chavez of allowing Marxist rebels from neighbouring Colombia shelter in Venezuela and criticise his increasingly close relations with Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

Chavez, however, rejects the charges and has moved to strengthen Venezuela's political and economic ties beyond Washington with states such as China, Russia and Iran.

Predictions from KGB defector, Anatoliy Golitsyn...

‘PERESTROIKA’, THE FINAL PHASE: ITS MAIN OBJECTIVES

(Taken from declassified memos published in Anatoliy Golitsyn’s second book The Perestroika Deception, 1995)

‘The new method sees ‘perestroika’, not as a surprising and spontaneous change, but as the logical result of thirty years of preparation and as the next and final phase of the strategy: it sees it in a broader context than Soviet ‘openness’ has revealed.’

‘It sees it, not only as a renewal of Soviet society, but as a global strategic design for ‘restructuring’ the entire capitalist world.’

‘The following strategic objectives of ‘perestroika’ may be distinguished:

For the USSR

(a) ‘Restructuring’ and revitalization of the Soviet socialist economy through the incorporation of some elements of the market economy.

(b) ‘Restructuring’ of the Stalinist regime into a form of ‘Communist democracy’ with an appearance of political pluralism [= ‘democratism’, or false democracy].

(c) ‘Reconsructing’ a repressive regime with a brutal face into an attractive socialist model with a human façade and seeming similarity to the Swedish social democratic system.’

For Eastern Europe

‘Economic and political ‘restructuring’ of the existing regimes into pseudo-social democratic models while preserving specific national historical features such as the strong Catholic Socialist tradition in Poland and the pre-war democratic tradition in Czechoslovakia.’

For Western Europe

(a) ‘Bringing about a new political alliance between the pseudo-social democratic regimes in the USSR and Eastern Europe and the Euro-Communist parties and genuine social democratic parties in Western Europe.

(b) ‘Restructuring’ political and military blocs—NATO and the Warsaw Pact—and the creation of a singe ‘Europe from the Atlantic to the Urals’ incorporating a reunited, neutral Germany.’

For the main US alliances

(a) ‘Splitting the United States, Western Europe and Japan.

(b) Dissolution of NATO and the US-Japan security pact, and the withdrawal of US troops from Western Europe and Japan.’

For Third World countries

‘The introduction and promotion of a new Soviet model with a mixed economy and a human face in Latin America, Africa and Asia through a joint campaign by the pseudo-social democratic regimes of the USSR and Eastern Europe and the genuine social democrats of Western Europe led by the Socialist International.’

For the United States

(a) ‘To neutralize the influence of the anti-Communist political right in the American political parties and to create favourable conditions for a victory of the radical left in the 1992 US presidential elections (In this context, Clinton’s stay with top Communists in Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union during the latter part of the Vietnam war has profound and disturbing implications—TTS).

(b) To ‘restructure’ the American military, political, economic and social status quo to accommodate greater convergence between the Soviet and American systems and the eventual creation of a single World Government.’

The paramount global objective

‘The paramount global objective of the strategy of ‘perestroika’ is to weaken and neutralize anti-Communist ideology and the influence of anti-Communists in political life in the United States, Western Europe and elsewhere—presenting them as anachronistic survivors of the Cold War, reactionaries and obstacles to ‘restructuring’ and peace. Anyone who warns about Moscow’s true objectives is automatically branded a ‘Cold Warrior’, even by people who have doubts about Moscow’s motives.’

Click on original link to see fraternal embrace between Putin and Chavez. Dictators of a feather...

Beside geo-politics (promotion of "multi-polar" world by Russia or EU) there is more urgent interest for - the money. It is only natural that Russian weapons producers will try to supply markets to which USA does not want to sell.

The alternative would be that America agrees to share some of her markets - how likely is it?

I remember the case when Poland was to sell some helicopters to Burma in early 1990s (few were actually sold) and US expressed concerns (human right issues). Polish government promptly suspended the sale and broke the contract. Then after a while Burmese government asked Americans to sell them American helicopters - and they got what they wanted! Hmm ...

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.