Posted on 12/19/2004 10:18:35 PM PST by Kitten Festival
Via this site or the news, I learn that the Venezuelan Government will acquire 100,000 AK-103 and AK-104 assault rifles from the Russians and license the manufacturing of another 200,000.
While the discussion seems to center around the US or Russia difference and whether the guns are the rights one or not, I am simply flabbergasted that this Government will spend some US$ 300 million to acquire more guns and this price does not even include the bullets!
Imagine a country where only twelve million Venezuelans are above 18, whose military already has more than half a million assault rifles and they plan to add another 300,000 to “modernize” the Armed Forces. We are talking almost one assault rifle for every ten adult Venezuelans!
There are two very sad aspects about this. First of all, those guns will end up killing only Venezuelans. Second, this revolution that claims to feel so much for the poor continues to spend inordinate amounts of money in weapons. Another Chávez promise down the drain. Chavez had promised when campaigning in 1998 that he would divert big military spending from the military to the people.
While many view this as a political issue, to me it’s economic. For decades, the Venezuelan military has spent inordinate amounts of money on expensive weapons projects that have only been useful to intimidate civilians and help grown men play games. This from Governments, past and present, that never assumed their proper role of giving good services to their people. How I envy the Costa Rican model! No military, only police…
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.salon.com ...
The weapons are for use in surrounding countries' revolutions. Shut the place down, now.
Looks like the democracy forces are going to have a tough time ever ousting El Supremo. And a big thank you to the worst President in American history, Jimmy Carter, who gave a thumbs up to the stolen election.
If this is accurate, then it's a scam. $300,000,000 for 100,000 rifles works out to $3,000 per rifle, (not including the licensing agreement). Even the latest and greatest AK's, (103's and 104's), don't come close to costing that much. They are a design that is incredibly simple to manufacture and anything over $400 per rifle would be highway robbery. Personally I'd expect them to be paying in the neighborhood of $250 per rifle.
That works out to $260,000,000 to Chavez' Swiss banking accounts. Which will turn out to be chump change before he is finished looting Venezuela.
I'm sure...Brazil and Argentina will be next, then___? Chavez has something Castro, Kim Jung Il and Ho Chi Mihn never did or will (oil, and lots of it). That makes him 10X more dangerous than they.
ping
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