Posted on 10/22/2007 8:38:02 PM PDT by LibWhacker
NAPLES (Reuters) - Ecuador's leftist President Rafael Correa said Washington must let him open a military base in Miami if the United States wants to keep using an air base on Ecuador's Pacific coast.
Correa has refused to renew Washington's lease on the Manta air base, set to expire in 2009. U.S. officials say it is vital for counter-narcotics surveillance operations on Pacific drug-running routes.
"We'll renew the base on one condition: that they let us put a base in Miami -- an Ecuadorean base," Correa said in an interview during a trip to Italy.
"If there's no problem having foreign soldiers on a country's soil, surely they'll let us have an Ecuadorean base in the United States."
The U.S. embassy to Ecuador says on its Web site that anti-narcotics flights from Manta gathered information behind more than 60 percent of illegal drug seizures on the high seas of the Eastern Pacific last year.
It offers a fact-sheet on the base at: http://ecuador.usembassy.gov/topics_of_interest/manta-fol.html
Correa, a popular leftist economist, had promised to cut off his arm before extending the lease that ends in 2009 and has called U.S. President George W. Bush a "dimwit".
But Correa, an ally of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, told Reuters he believed relations with the United States were "excellent" despite the base closing.
He rejected the idea that the episode reflected on U.S. ties at all.
"This is the only North American military base in South America," he said.
"So, then the other South American countries don't have good relations with the United States because they don't have military bases? That doesn't make any sense."
Pull everything out, raze the base to the ground. Give the looters nothing.
The Chinese are whispering ‘sweet-nothings’ in his ear.
Why else would he wish to cast the largest source of income from his sh*thole?
Forget Miami, let’s put the base in Riviera Beach. We can cede it to them. They won’t have to pay us a dime or offer any other compensation. They just have to live there.
Something like 10,000 surplus condos and several large lots of land for other failed to be financed condo developments in greater Miami/Dade. I’m sure some of those near bankrupt developers would sell their land to Ecuador at this point.
The Germans are cutting back operations at their base in New Mexico- perhaps they can sublease to him.
If it’s important enough, we’ll give them a base.
...we should just give them Massachusetts....
Give them one for the sake of fun. Surely this military base will look pathetic... and will be very embarrasing for Ecuadorian soldiers to even guard it... plus several daily fly-bys of F-22s.
Do the Ecuadorians speak Spanish … if so; Bush will give them anything they want.
San Francisco.
But they have to keep it.
Do we need a base in Ecuador?
If we leave a base in Equador, and China moves in,
do we resurrect the Monroe Doctrine?
(and why haven’t we, already??)
These tin-pot POS dictators are getting old. It’s time we slap one down as an example. Yes I’m calling for military intervention.
Sounds like a plan to me! Leave no trace of it every being there. Then get the popcorn and sit back, because the citizens that don’t have their jobs anymore will be in the streets. This could be one of the best things to happen, because it would destabilize Ecuador, and who knows....
I say we close it down, destroy it beyond recognition, and cut the buggers off economically, refuse all their exports.
Seems they need another revolution. Those stupid people never learn.
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.