No lol, Venezuela will not invade the US. The only reason why I can think of them buying arms is...because they have military weapons/supplies in case of something? Many countries buy them...

Originally posted by BlueAngel
Former soldier Chavez says he is preparing his armed forces for a U.S. invasion. He has already taken delivery of a big consignment of Russian Kalashnikov automatic rifles.

Looks like the US will be dealing with an invasion from Venezuela anytime now the way they are purchasing arms.

BlueAngel

Uh, no, Chavez is buying the arms because he is afraid the U.S. will invade his country. Not the other way around.

Venezuela is not going to invade the U.S. That's not going to happen. Not even I am afraid of Venezuela, And I can see Venezuela on a clear day. we have a huge oil refrinery here, and Aruba lies in a strategic position for commerce.... But I am not afraid of anything happening. Huge Chavez is there to defend his (poor) people, although he is a bit weird and paranoid.

Sorry for the typo...i had it backwards everyone....US to invade Venezuela...
that was embaressing haha...

BlueAngel

War between Venezuela and US is highly unlikely. Sure Chavez made it tough for Western oil companies to continue to exploit Venezuela, but as far as I know it is still exporting as much oil as it did before- only now its either through national oil industry, or through higher rates for other companies.

If US in any way threatens Venezuela openly, Chavez will cut off all oil exports- and with decreased worldwide supply (I don't believe Middle East has the capacity to replace Venezuela petroleum in short term) the price will skyrocket. So US cannot afford any chances to mess up its relations with Chavez even further. Some covert activity in Venezuela is likely, but Chavez should not be worries for his life- he is far too popular in all of South America and getting rid him will only complicate matters.

The arms deal with Russia is nothing to be too concerned about I think. Obviously Chavez is not going to go to US for weapons, and he needs to constantly rearm the country- its but a normal procedure. No country that has money will take chances with outdated weaponry, and Venezuela is in need of medernizing its armed forces. Maybe Chavez is making it seem as if this deal is based against US interests, but it is not. Mexico also recently ordered Russian jets I belive, yet no threat there.

You know I never had a problem with Cindy Sheehan, because I would do the same things, like protesting, etc. BUT sitting with Hugo Chavez when he is saying he wants to bring the US down from dominance just seems like treason...

Originally posted by BlueAngel
Sorry for the typo...i had it backwards everyone....US to invade Venezuela...

BlueAngel

Oh, okay. I thought I was losing it.

I read the corrected title, and some of the replies did'nt seem to fit.

And I think the US has too much on it's plate already. Way too much.

Originally posted by RetinoidReceptor


You know I never had a problem with Cindy Sheehan, because I would do the same things, like protesting, etc. BUT sitting with Hugo Chavez when he is saying he wants to bring the US down from dominance just seems like treason...

I would agree. I would take it one step further to say, we, the americans are putting alot of money into the hands of a government that wants only to see our downfall every time we fill up our tanks at a Citgo Station

Originally posted by BlueAngel
Sorry for the typo...i had it backwards everyone....US to invade Venezuela...
that was embaressing haha...

I wouldn't be as embarrassed as the people who clearly responded just be reading the title!

LAWNMOWERMAN, thanks for the details on what is supposed to be sold to Venezuela. 100K guns, though? How big is their army, or do they just want a lot of spares, or do they plan on arming the public in the event of an invasion?

BUT sitting with Hugo Chavez when he is saying he wants to bring the US down from dominance just seems like treason...

The desire to rule the planet is not patriotism - plenty of Americans would like to "bring the US down from dominance" as well.
Your choice of terms is telling.

Had you said "see the US destroyed" or even "see the US defeated" I might be inclined to agree with you even. But "brought down from dominance"? It's the best thing that could ever happen to this country. No single nation should dominate the planet - it's a recipe for disaster, both for us and the rest of the species.

As for Chavez, if Chavez wanted to harm the US, his military is in no position to do it. A few SU-30's or not. All Chavez really needs to do to screw things up for the US is to stop selling us oil.
But - surprise! - he isn't doing it.

Chavez isn't interested in taking on the US.
What he's interested in is staying in charge of Venezuela, and how he's doing it is by milking popular anger at the US, whose "free trade" fundamentalism and interventionism have screwed over a lot of people in the the poorer parts of the planet.

The truth is, no matter how much we try to sell our particular version of "freedom", a lot of people aren't buying it. A lot of people think we're completely full of it - and not without good reasons. And increasingly, they're going to start voting for people like Chavez - who make their political careers by milking anger towards us.


[edit on 7/22/06 by xmotex]

Originally posted by LAWNMOWERMAN
several MiG 29s have already been reported seen by COLUMBIAN officials and US intelligence near CURCAO

Hmm... That's really closeby, I would like to see a MIG flying around. Never seen one before, but they can't violate our airspace of course...

Long supply lines and the need for personal and spare parts to maintain Russian made military hardware seems to indicate that the government of Venezuela hasnt put much thought into the matter. In the event of a regional conflict much would depend on make up of other South American Militarys.