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Reminder of Bush theft of Bolivia's hand-held missiles immediately prior to Evo Morales' election:

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Judi Lynn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat May-03-08 07:16 AM
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Reminder of Bush theft of Bolivia's hand-held missiles immediately prior to Evo Morales' election:
Bolivia’s Morales announces treason trial for army general
Wednesday, January 18, 2006


President-elect Evo Morales.President-elect Evo Morales, who will assume office on Sunday January 22, announced on Wednesday that General Marcelo Antezana will face trial for treason after sending 28 aging Chinese-made missiles to the U.S. for destruction at the request from the U.S.

General Antezana, who was dismissed from his position this Wednesday 18, told Bolivian media that Washington had requested the missiles amid fears that Evo Morales would win the presidency. Days later, he retracted his comments. The Defence Minister, Gonzalo Mendez, resigned over the scandal.

Morales' political party, Movement for Socialism, has petitioned the Public Ministry to bring the transitional president Eduardo Rodriguez to trial on charges stemming from their investigation.

Rodriguez, interim president appointed after Carlos Mesa resigned in June, said that he had authorized the destruction, but not the transfer of the weapons, which were the only ones of its kind in Bolivia. The missile handover was an unapproved arrangement between local soldiers and the U.S. military, according to Rodriquez. He made a formal protest to the U.S. embassy on Tuesday, he said.

Rodriguez said his decision to get rid of the weapons was based on recommendations from United Nations and the Organization of American States. The army also reported they were a safety hazard. The obsolete surface-to-air missiles were destroyed in the U.S last October.

A U.S. State Department spokesman said that a campaign to eliminate portable arms in Latin America has been on-going in an effort to keep them from falling into the hands of terrorists.

http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Bolivia%E2%80%99s_Morales_announces_treason_trial_for_army_general

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Last Updated: Wednesday, 18 January 2006, 10:59 GMT

Bolivia president sacks army head

Bolivia's outgoing President Eduardo Rodriguez has sacked the army chief and ordered a probe into the destruction in the US of some 30 missiles in October.
Mr Rodriguez said he had been told the ageing Chinese missiles posed a safety risk and had authorised American help with their decommissioning.

But, he said, the army should not have sent them out of the country.
(snip)

Letter

Mr Morales' party had threatened to impeach President Rodriguez over the deactivation of the surface-to-air missiles, but correspondents says it has backed away from the threat recently.

President Rodriguez said on Tuesday he would seek clarification from Washington about the episode.

Defence Minister Gonzalo Mendez has resigned so his role can be investigated.

Army chief General Marcelo Antezana will face disciplinary proceedings after he published a letter in several newspapers, demanding that the government release the documents pertaining to the decommissioning.

In October, he had issued a declaration saying he was the sole person responsible for the decision.

But last week, he appeared to reject any responsibility and hinted that there had been American pressure for the missiles to be taken to a US base.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4623424.stm

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It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize Bush and Rumsfeld stuck their evil fingers where they surely NEVER BELONGED in meddling in Bolivia's own defense department.

Decent men would never have considered doing something this unmanly, this stupid, this crude, and completely ODD! They didn't win any war, they won eternal contempt.
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