Venezuela's Chavez to buy Chinese K-8 planes

Venezuela's Chavez to buy Chinese K-8 planes

www.rawstory.com

Chavez in recent years has stepped up purchases of weapons and planes. Washington accuses the self-styled revolutionary of carrying out an arms spending spree that could destabilize the region.

Venezuela and China on Friday signed an accord to build a refinery on Chinese soil as part of a broader plan to reduce Venezuela's reliance on U.S. energy markets.

"We're going to buy Chinese K-8 planes," Chavez said during his weekly Sunday broadcast, calling them "excellent planes for the boys."

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The is little doubt Chavez will have all the funds he desires to get what ever military hardware he wants. Historically speaking, I also think this will mean he will be doing something with it. Only time will tell what, but I do think the military strategist will be writing a lot of reports on this.

www.rawstory.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Originally posted by RedGolem
Washington accuses the self-styled revolutionary of carrying out an arms spending spree that could destabilize the region.

I just love this kind of stuff. Little ol' Venezuela is accused of threatening to destablise the region as the result of its arms spending at a time when the US Defence budget is soaring. Just makes me laugh.

And, of course, there's the small matter of a bit of destabilisation going on in the Middle East, isn't there?

Next thing you know, every CIA Analyst and his mother are going to screaming "WMD's in Venezuela"...

This is not worrying news. Venezuela has the right purchase whatever damn planes it wants from whoever the fk without US government intrusion into their military.

If America can have the world's second largest stockpile of Nuclear & Chemical weapons and get away with it scott-free, Venezuela can buy planes.

Stop spreading this sensationalist nonsense.
If I were Chavez, I'd be buying planes by the boatload considering the hawkish nature of the Bush Administration.

reply to post by The Godfather of Conspira


They are already planting the seeds of S. American terror with the the FARC rebels being caught with 66 pounds of Uranium.
www.abovetopsecret.com...

reply to post by stikkinikki


Why am I not surprised?
Thanks for that one mate...

Venezuelan rebels caught with Uranium?
Yeah I buy that.

What are they going to do with it? Take it to their underground physics lab deep in the jungles of the Amazon and enrich it? Maybe fit it into a warhead on one of their many ICBM's... lol

Entire story reaks of propaganda.

Originally posted by The Godfather of Conspira

This is not worrying news. Venezuela has the right purchase whatever damn planes it wants from whoever the fk without US government intrusion into their military.

yes they can as can all countries. The point is what will they be doing with them. Depending on what is done with them might make a difference on what of if the U.S. decides to make any "intrusion into their military," as you put it.
Or do you think it is better the wait until the planes cross the Texas border before the U.S. does anything?

Originally posted by RedGolem
yes they can as can all countries. The point is what will they be doing with them.

Building an air force?
Either way what business is it of the US what they're doing with their planes? I don't see Venezuelan officials getting concerned over the F-35 programme in development, or US AFB's in the Carribean.

Your blowing this out to be some major turning point in US-Venezuelan relations. It's just a couple of planes.

Or do you think it is better the wait until the planes cross the Texas border before the U.S. does anything?

Gee that's not being hawkish at all.
You seriously think a nation with a military strength of 100,000 men is going to bother attacking the US?
For what purpose may I ask?

Because all foreign dissidents of the US must be absolute maniacs?
Get a grip, Hugo Chavez is not suicidal.
He has other reasons to modernize his forces, and the US is not one of those reasons.
Venezuela and Colombia have stormy relations, plus the growing power of narco-guerrillas also puts them at risk since they operate from the Colombian-Venezeulan border.

Not everything revolves around the US you know. Just because somebody who happens to not like G.W. Bush buys a few fighter jets, doesn't mean it's a prelude to war in South America.

reply to post by The Godfather of Conspira


Sadly the morons continue their march to the drums of War. 'Cuz, you know, despite Chavez being democratically elected by his People, and being immensely popular for putting his People over the interests of multinational corporations who use the U.S. as a leg-breaker, he's, well, a Dictator, dontcha know.

Considering how many countries have jumped on the "Get Venezuela" bandwagon, seizing their assets abroad and doing their best to isolate that nation from the world's "free" market (because Chavez, in his insolence, nationalized his nation's oil and won't play along with the other oil-producing nations) I can't blame him one damn bit for making deals with anyone who comes to the table, preparing his people and strengthening his defense forces. When we could have a carrier group bombing the Holy Hell out of his capitol within a two-to three-day window he's perfectly justified in wanting something to fight back with.

Anyone who thinks Hugo Chavez will somehow build an invasion force with this needs their heads examined and seriously needs to do some fact-checking. "Planes crossing the Texan border" reeks of something Hannity or O'Reilly would spew. Don't bother me with facts, just give me more reasons to fight with everyone...

Is it just me or has a certain percentage of Americans become so twisted with rage they'll look for any justification for war?

Originally posted by The Nighthawk

Is it just me or has a certain percentage of Americans become so twisted with rage they'll look for any justification for war?

You mean just like right after 9/11?

I always found it startling that no one thought "Hang on a minute, maybe we're wrong about this, and we're going to spend decades trying to take on a problem that hasn't been solved in the entirety of the history of human civilisation, Maybe going to war won't serve our interests one bit, and the effort will cripple our economy".

Oh wait, that would be a reasonable and coherent reason not to start a war on terror.

reply to post by The Godfather of Conspira


Building and air force, is a broad but straight answer. There relations with Columbia is a little better. The point is I don't think they just plan to let them sit on the air field until there out dated. I am takeing it to the extreme but this is a site for discussion.
During the Reagan era there was a possibility of Russian planes is south America that drew a lot of attention. Things are a lot different now but the point will remain the same, what will be happening with them?

Originally posted by RedGolem
Building and air force, is a broad but straight answer. There relations with Columbia is a little better. The point is I don't think they just plan to let them sit on the air field until there out dated. I am takeing it to the extreme but this is a site for discussion.
During the Reagan era there was a possibility of Russian planes is south America that drew a lot of attention. Things are a lot different now but the point will remain the same, what will be happening with them?

Hmmmm, maybe they'll use them to disrupt drug-running operations run by CIA operatives? Can't have Ollie North's successors getting shot down on their way to deliver their cargo of coke bound for Wall Street, can we?

And frankly, why should you care what they do with them? Venezuela is a sovereign nation. They have a right, and a responsibility, to defend themselves--especially being an oil-rich nation just a hop, skip and jump away from the world's current primary aggressor. What kind of horror are you expecting here?

reply to post by The Nighthawk


Can't really say I am expecting anything. I can say I see similarities with this that has happened in other times. Such as the first part of the 20th century. Protecting there country is the most likely scenario. However controlling the oil that they do and given enough time the game could change.

reply to post by RedGolem


Well generally they fly them to see if they're any good, they put them on big airfields and say to their enemies "Hey! See that? Don't step over that border buddy!" and then once their old and worthless they're used as training platforms for newer recruits.

Generally that is what happens to 60% of military hardware during peace time. Unless WW3 erupts and Venezuela happens to be in the center of it, why the hell would you assume they would immediately start deploying any jets they get their hands on?

This how nations use the deterrent factor of their militaries to avoid actual war. Look up the Art of War by Sun Tzu, you'll notice a lot of his widely-accepted warfare strategies involve "posturing" & "menacing" and psychologically destroying the enemy which can be just as effective putting a bullet in their head but without the need to actually DIE. This concludes Military Tactics 101.

Because you see, some people don't want to throw all their troops into everlasting quagmires like the US does and then run into trillion dollar deficits and suffer miserably for the next 20 years or so.
Some nations actually believe in diplomacy and a thing called "talking" rather than throwing punches at everyone who says one bad word about your mother.

Don't be so swept by the Bush Admin's "War of Forever" that you feel the US needs to pre-emptively take out every head of state who disses you.

Some guys out there actually value their arms and legs and do want peace.


[edit on 12/5/08 by The Godfather of Conspira]

Those K-8's are some smart looking aircraft. I would like to have one of those myself. I would not be foolish enough to pit it against anything in the US inventory right now though.

I can still remember when the soccer war was fought between EL Salvador and Honduras. They used WW2 era Corsairs, Mustangs, and T-28's and AT-6's. Hopefully we will not see this sort of thing breaking out between Columbia and Venezuela. Both of them are a bit better armed.

reply to post by The Godfather of Conspira


Parking the hardware, like planes just for people to look at is a tactic that has been done and has worked in the past. Today in a moder military action I don't think it will have the same effect. If deception is what the goal is there are better ways to go about it.
So what generally happens to military hard ware in peace time may happen to these planes. No one has any way of knowing aside from perhaps Chavez at the moment.