Venezuelan military holds anti-invasion exercises

[bemildred]

Source: Yahoo/AP

CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has observed military exercises with planes dropping bombs and commandos resisting a mock invasion.

Saturday's maneuvers in southern Bolivar state featured Russian-made Sukhoi fighter jets, ground troops, patrol boats and helicopters that fired rockets at targets.

Chavez often warns the U.S. could attack Venezuela and says his military must be prepared. He has spent billions of dollars on arms in recent years.

The president wore fatigues and a red beret as he observed the exercises from the shore of a lake. An announcer on state TV said troops from a fictional "red country" were fighting a mock "war of resistance" against the invading force of a "blue country."

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080913/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/venezuela_chavez

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:popcorn:

[Reform]

1. Seems like

Another result of the Bush doctrine

[neverforget]

3. In what respect, Charlie?

[Captain Hilts]

2. He's also feuding with his neighbors. nt

[killbotfactory]

4. Which country would ever invade an oil rich nation for no reason?

What a paranoid freak.

[Gillian]

7. Just because you´re paranoid doesn´t mean they aren´t coming

Cheney is craving a new source of blood and oil.

[ronnie624]

9. Paranoid?

Is it paranoid for the government of a resource-rich country in Latin America to be aware of the history of U.S. foreign policy there, and take steps to guard against that which is likely to come?

I think you're trying to reinforce corporatist bullshit in the minds of the gullible.

[happydreams]

19. Hee, hee. Nice one.

[judasdisney]

5. U.S. "ally" Alvaro Uribe of Colombia has Death Squads & mass graves. Chavez doesn't.

The esteemed N.Y. Times prints twice-weekly hatchet-jobs on the democratically-elected Chavez. Yet not once has the N.Y. Times printed a single story about Uribe that isn't sympathetic or even glowing.

Why?

[davidinalameda]

6. anti-invasion?

paranoid much St. Hugo?

[Judi Lynn]

8. How does the "paranoid" Hugo Chavez view the reactivated 4th Fleet doing exercises

just off its shores on the Caribbean, called back to life after decades in retirement, by your pResident _Bush?

How is he supposed to view the fact Colombia's DAS head, Jorge Noguera was discovered to be deeply involved in an assassination plot against Hugo Chavez originating within the Venezuelan opposition, and why did Colombia's President Álvaro Uribe make a public apology to Hugo Chavez, and meet with him for six hours to thrash out the problem, and put out a warrant for the arrest of his intelligence chief who had fled the country?

It's easy, effortless to call in your insults, but they are based on crap. Spend some of your time, instead, getting up to speed, getting a sense of the facts, like other DU'ers who participate in Latin American conversations as serious people with not so much time to squander.

[ronnie624]

10. Good points.

But he'll ignore all of them, and post exactly the same empty-headed drivel on the next Latin American thread that appears.

Fortunately, their obsessions make them obvious to anyone with genuine interest.

[davidinalameda]

12. your apologies for this bozo are so tired

so sorry that I'm not a "serious" person

this man is anti-Semitic megalomaniac who is bed with some of the most horrid regimes-Russia, Iran, China-in the world

but the Church of St. Hugo likes to ignore these facts

your hatred of Bush blinds you to the fact that this guy isn't the second coming

the enemy of my enemy is NOT my friend in this case

[High Plains]

14. I'm sorry you're not a serious person, too.

It would be nice to have a serious discussion of the issues, but all you have is hyperbolic insults.

Chavez is in some ways a caricature, a perfect foil for gringos to project their Latin American fantasies on, but he is also leading a social(ist) revolution in his country and crafting a regional alliance that will act as a counterweight to a couple of centuries of US imperialism in the region. Would you like to discuss that, or is just more of the Church of St. Hugo for you?

[Judi Lynn]

15. The obsession by the right in calling progressives "apologists" is a sad reach.

I've never seen anyone "apologize" for the elected leaders of countries doing the jobs they were elected to do, yet.

Why would anyone apologize? Apologize because your deviant pResident didn't get his way in overthrowing the elected President of Venezuela, destroying the government, ruling Venezuela through a group of right-wing toadies? No apology is in order.

The right, from the depths of mental incapacity, also defines citizens who support progressives as people who believe "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." I've never heard anyone operating from that position, yet. It's simply too stupid, something you might expect from a simple-minded Republican. Democrats here form their views by seeking and finding actual information, rather than taking it all without thought, or question from hate radio programs and Fox news. Democrats can and do read, and always do think.

That separates Democrats from the pathetic monstrosities and would-be human beings of the right.

[davidinalameda]

20. progressives do not support regimes like Iran

I want you and yours to defend Hugo's alliance with Iran

[ronnie624]

22. The relationship between Iran and Venezuela

does not need to be defended. They are both sovereign nations and are entitled to conduct business with other countries as they see fit, without interference from arrogant Americans who think they have a right control the actions of the other 95% of the Earths human population. Neither Iran nor Venezuela has ever attacked or threatened the United States in any manner. They are both at far greater risk of being attacked by the U.S.

It isn't clear why you and other right-wingers fear an alliance between the two countries. Can you explain why two relatively small, weak countries that are clearly not a threat cause you so much anxiety?

[davidinalameda]

23. so you support a progressive government, as others refer to Venezuela as

having close ties with a theocracy like Iran

a theocracy that murders gays and lesbians; persecutes women and non-Muslims

funds terrorism in the Middle East

the current president denies that Hitler did not murder millions of Jews in the Holocaust

is this a government you want to support?

this is a government that wants to bring about the second coming of Abul-Qassem Mohammed (google is your friend)

the Iranian government has banned many left-wing political parties

this government, like its predecessor, tortures and kills its opponents; stifles criticism of the government, and censors the press

one would think that a progressive government like Venezuela wouldn't want to be associated with a government such as this

one would think that Chavez would be fighting governments like this in his support for a socialist and progressive world

[ronnie624]

24. Who do you think you're kidding?

The U.S. foreign policy establishment has never been concerned with the rights of women or gays, except when such concepts happen to be useful as a propaganda tool for manufacturing support for intervention. Our government is more concerned with creating business opportunities for big corporations (its primary constituency), and has created alliances with regimes worse than Iran's and for far more nefarious reasons than those of the Venezuelan government. At least Venezuela is acting in the genuine interest of security for its people.

Iranian society will not be changed overnight, nor will it be changed through coercion and force by other countries. In fact, U.S. foreign policy of "fighting governments like this" has done more to damage progressive change in Iran than anything else. Perhaps Venezuelans realize it is not their place to change Iran, but in fact, the responsibility of the Iranian people to do so.

[knixphan]

26. seconded!

[fascisthunter]

27. thank you

[davidinalameda]

29. this isn't about the US

this is about your great progressive hero

he has done nothing to bring about any change in Iran; the man has allied himself with murderers

and you condemn Bush? hello pot, kettle

[wvbygod]

11. The president wore fatigues and a red beret as he observed the exercises

A Che wannabe? How original.

[Judi Lynn]

13. Yeah, evaluating the wardrobe choices of elected Presidents of other countries can be so exhausting

It's almost not worth the effort.

[happydreams]

18. LOL. Bush however did protect Texas from an invasion from N. Vietnam...

as an on again, off again (off when he was doped up)member of the Texas Air National Guard.

[ronnie624]

28. It's rather amusing

that they think they can influence the thinking of genuine progressives with such drivel.

[hack89]

16. It will take a lot more than that to stop an US invasion

fortunately I don't see an invasion happening before Obama takes over.

[happydreams]

17. I was wondering what took Hugo so long. He should have an ongoing

program of exercises of this sort.
But I guess he wants to spend as much time and energy as he can trying to clean up the mess the fascists made of his country.

[DavidMS]

21. Thats a strange one...

Traditionally "Red" forces are the bad guys in any training scenario. IIRC, it goes back to Prussian War Games where you pieces on the map are blue and the enemies are represented by red pieces.

Chavez used to be a banner carrier for the left but I lost my taste for him because he isn't doing a very good job with economic management.

[fascisthunter]

25. I Don't Blame Him.....

[thewall77]

30. Sounds fair to me

Every country has the right to protect their sovereignty.