dadachango69
23rd August 2004, 02:57
Who's Watching the Back Door?
March 29, 2004
Al Qaeda-related terrorists reminded us in Madrid, Spain, that the potential for attacks on Western targets, especially the United States, is still very much a threat as it was on 11 September 2001. This week the Homeland Security Department issued a “threat notice” on a potential attack against oil refineries in the greater Houston, Texas, area. Al Qaeda activity in the Southern Hemisphere is not limited to the Gulf Coast of the USA. Terrorists, drug lords, and the deteriorating political situation in Latin America should be receiving more attention than is being given by the U.S. news media and the government.
The Haitian situation seems to have settled a bit with the departure of Jean-Betrand Aristide and the arrival of U.S. Marines and French troops. More Caribbean “peace keepers” are to follow. However, the main problem today is not the inroads being made by Al Qaeda in many lawless areas, but that more than a few Latin American leaders have fallen into anti-Americanism and admiration for Fidel Castro.
The question of Latin America’s political direction could be seen at the end of the Summit of the Americas in Monterrey, Mexico, on 14 January, when Venezuela’s leftist President Hugo Chavez flew off to Havana immediately after the Summit. The Summit was held by “freely elected” heads of state, which left out only Castro’s communist Cuba.
Relationships between the U.S. and Latin America are at a new low. Argentina, Bolivia, Venezuela, Mexico, Brazil, and others have shown open hostility toward the USA.
Argentina has an $81 billion debt and failed to make the difficult decisions to correct their economic situation; the U.S. has become concerned that the new President Nestor Kirchner is too friendly with Castro.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s economic policies are plunging that nation into communism, and he is allying himself with Castro in Cuba and Chavez in Venezuela. The friction between the U.S. and Brazil over U.S. security measures, including photographing and fingerprinting foreign visitors, has caused Brazil to retaliate by imposing similar measures on U.S. visitors to Brazil.
Brazil seems to be the center of the growing Marxist threat, and has even reported to be resisting the International Atomic Energy Agency’s request for spot inspections of its nuclear site. Additionally, Brazil has announced that it expects to join the select group of nations that produce enriched uranium. Indications are that Brazil is moving toward developing nuclear weapons.
Last October, Bolivian President Gonzalo Sanchez de Losada fled the country, toppled by an Indian-led protest that is spreading throughout the Andes. The Indian movement is fast becoming a magnet for other radical groups who want to ally themselves with Castor and Chavez. The movement is riding a continent-wide backlash against free trade and required market reforms, and runs from Peru far south to Chile.
The war in Iraq has caused a major split between the U.S. and Latin America. Now even Honduras has decided to follow the new Spanish socialists and withdraw its troops from Iraq. Only seven out of 33 Latin American and Caribbean nations supported the U.S. invasion of Iraq. In the initial UN Security Council resolution on using force in Iraq, Chile and Mexico, as rotating members of the Security Council, voted to oppose the resolution.
Even Columbia has had its ups and downs with U.S. foreign policy initiatives. However, Columbia receives more foreign aid than any other country in the world, except Egypt and Israel.
Two weeks ago, El Salvador had a close election pitting a former communist rebel commander, Schafik Handal, against the candidate from the ruling National Republican Alliance, or ARENA, Tony Saca.
Handal was trailing by only 5-10 percentage points on the eve of the election. Local farmers said the issues were unemployment and communism, and that there could be another war. Handal’s unabashed admiration for Castro and his pledge to reevaluate El Salvador’s free-market reforms and pull its 380 troops out of Iraq had some diplomats worried.
Communist China is becoming a major trading partner of Latin America, buying airplanes from Brazil, soybeans from Argentina, and investing heavily in Panama.
There is a real danger to the U.S. in the steady increase of Marxist influence, which is solid in Cuba and growing in Venezuela and Brazil.
The Columbian terrorist Revolutionary Armed Force (FARC) continues to support drug trafficking and has been reported to be proving some assistance to Al Qaeda.
If Latin America is on the back burner for American foreign policy, we are in serious trouble as we are faced with increased Al Qaeda influence buying, growing anti-Americanism, and an alarming increase in an affinity for Marxism.
source (http://www.military.com/NewContent/0,13190,Hayden_032904,00.html)
March 29, 2004
Al Qaeda-related terrorists reminded us in Madrid, Spain, that the potential for attacks on Western targets, especially the United States, is still very much a threat as it was on 11 September 2001. This week the Homeland Security Department issued a “threat notice” on a potential attack against oil refineries in the greater Houston, Texas, area. Al Qaeda activity in the Southern Hemisphere is not limited to the Gulf Coast of the USA. Terrorists, drug lords, and the deteriorating political situation in Latin America should be receiving more attention than is being given by the U.S. news media and the government.
The Haitian situation seems to have settled a bit with the departure of Jean-Betrand Aristide and the arrival of U.S. Marines and French troops. More Caribbean “peace keepers” are to follow. However, the main problem today is not the inroads being made by Al Qaeda in many lawless areas, but that more than a few Latin American leaders have fallen into anti-Americanism and admiration for Fidel Castro.
The question of Latin America’s political direction could be seen at the end of the Summit of the Americas in Monterrey, Mexico, on 14 January, when Venezuela’s leftist President Hugo Chavez flew off to Havana immediately after the Summit. The Summit was held by “freely elected” heads of state, which left out only Castro’s communist Cuba.
Relationships between the U.S. and Latin America are at a new low. Argentina, Bolivia, Venezuela, Mexico, Brazil, and others have shown open hostility toward the USA.
Argentina has an $81 billion debt and failed to make the difficult decisions to correct their economic situation; the U.S. has become concerned that the new President Nestor Kirchner is too friendly with Castro.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s economic policies are plunging that nation into communism, and he is allying himself with Castro in Cuba and Chavez in Venezuela. The friction between the U.S. and Brazil over U.S. security measures, including photographing and fingerprinting foreign visitors, has caused Brazil to retaliate by imposing similar measures on U.S. visitors to Brazil.
Brazil seems to be the center of the growing Marxist threat, and has even reported to be resisting the International Atomic Energy Agency’s request for spot inspections of its nuclear site. Additionally, Brazil has announced that it expects to join the select group of nations that produce enriched uranium. Indications are that Brazil is moving toward developing nuclear weapons.
Last October, Bolivian President Gonzalo Sanchez de Losada fled the country, toppled by an Indian-led protest that is spreading throughout the Andes. The Indian movement is fast becoming a magnet for other radical groups who want to ally themselves with Castor and Chavez. The movement is riding a continent-wide backlash against free trade and required market reforms, and runs from Peru far south to Chile.
The war in Iraq has caused a major split between the U.S. and Latin America. Now even Honduras has decided to follow the new Spanish socialists and withdraw its troops from Iraq. Only seven out of 33 Latin American and Caribbean nations supported the U.S. invasion of Iraq. In the initial UN Security Council resolution on using force in Iraq, Chile and Mexico, as rotating members of the Security Council, voted to oppose the resolution.
Even Columbia has had its ups and downs with U.S. foreign policy initiatives. However, Columbia receives more foreign aid than any other country in the world, except Egypt and Israel.
Two weeks ago, El Salvador had a close election pitting a former communist rebel commander, Schafik Handal, against the candidate from the ruling National Republican Alliance, or ARENA, Tony Saca.
Handal was trailing by only 5-10 percentage points on the eve of the election. Local farmers said the issues were unemployment and communism, and that there could be another war. Handal’s unabashed admiration for Castro and his pledge to reevaluate El Salvador’s free-market reforms and pull its 380 troops out of Iraq had some diplomats worried.
Communist China is becoming a major trading partner of Latin America, buying airplanes from Brazil, soybeans from Argentina, and investing heavily in Panama.
There is a real danger to the U.S. in the steady increase of Marxist influence, which is solid in Cuba and growing in Venezuela and Brazil.
The Columbian terrorist Revolutionary Armed Force (FARC) continues to support drug trafficking and has been reported to be proving some assistance to Al Qaeda.
If Latin America is on the back burner for American foreign policy, we are in serious trouble as we are faced with increased Al Qaeda influence buying, growing anti-Americanism, and an alarming increase in an affinity for Marxism.
source (http://www.military.com/NewContent/0,13190,Hayden_032904,00.html)