Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa on Thursday questioned Colombia's
ability to control the U.S. military operating from bases on its
territory.
"When have the North Americans ever let themselves being controlled?", Correa said during a stopover in Lima on his way to the UNASUR meeting to be held in Bariloche, Argentina, on Friday.
Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe repeatedly said the U.S. military will only use Colombian bases for anti-narcotic and anti-terrorism operations within the country. However, the Ecuadorean President thinks "these U.S. bases have enough capacity for actions in whole South America. They complement this with the reactivation of the Fourth Fleet. These are things that concern."
Correa recalled that his country also had U.S. bases for a decade and although it was under Ecuadorean control "we have serious allegations of a series of events that are being investigated which were impossible to control."
Furthermore, Correa questioned the anti-drug fight of the United States by stating that the U.S. ambassador in Bogota, William Brownfield, defined the FARC as drug dealers and in the future they might say that "since Correa is a drug dealer, we bomb Ecuador."
Looking at the UNASUR meeting, Correa said Latin America "is a land of peace, free from foreign bases." The Ecuadorean President trusts that the meeting in Bariloche will solve "doubts and uncertainty through dialogue."
Bogota and Washington are close to signing an agreement that allows the
U.S. to use Colombian bases for their fight against drug trafficking
and terrorism. Ecuador, together with Venezuela and Bolivia, is one of
the biggest opponents of the military agreement.
Mo
said:
 |
... Is amazing how these two clowns (correa and Chavez ) are playing the fear card. Is just an excuse to run their countries more into debt. At the end the will just shoot them self on the foot |
Diarmid Ó Conaill
said:
|
... This is a worrying development and one which is quite obviously aimed at oil-rich Venezuela. Is it surprising that the US would try to oust Chavez again after their failed attempt in April 2002? It comes as they end their 10-year use of the Manta airbase in Ecuador, but this represents a significant increase in power. One airbase increases to seven military bases and reactivation of the Fourth Fleet, all to combat a few renegades running around the jungle? It just seems like overkill. A more likely scenario is that the US and their Columbian allies are preparing for war. A pretext can easily be created, and they've already tried to suggest that Venezuela is responsible for supplying Farc with weapons. This "war on drugs" is a blatantly obvious smoke screen to invade Venezuela, reinstate a puppet parliament, and send a message to the rest of the continent. With democratically elected anti-globalisation leaders like Chavez and Morales springing up, the US feel they are starting to loose their economic dominance of the western Hemisphere. They won't allow this to happen and will resort to anything to reassert their hegemony. Of course, any military action will be justified with the predictable rhetoric of anti-terrorism, anti-drugs, and a selfless interest in liberty and democracy for all. Sad to see, but powerless to stop. Diarmid Ó Conaill, de Irlanda This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it |
Diarmid Ó Conaill
said:
|
... This is a worrying development and one which is quite obviously aimed at oil-rich Venezuela. Is it surprising that the US would try to oust Chavez again after their failed attempt in April 2002? It comes as they end their 10-year use of the Manta airbase in Ecuador, but this represents a significant increase in power. One airbase increases to seven military bases and reactivation of the Fourth Fleet, all to combat a few renegades running around the jungle? It just seems like overkill. A more likely scenario is that the US and their Columbian allies are preparing for war. A pretext can easily be created, and they've already tried to suggest that Venezuela is responsible for supplying Farc with weapons. This "war on drugs" is a blatantly obvious smoke screen to invade Venezuela, reinstate a puppet parliament, and send a message to the rest of the continent. With democratically elected anti-globalisation leaders like Chavez and Morales springing up, the US feel they are starting to loose their economic dominance of the western Hemisphere. They won't allow this to happen and will resort to anything to reassert their hegemony. Of course, any military action will be justified with the predictable rhetoric of anti-terrorism, anti-drugs, and a selfless interest in liberty and democracy for all. Sad to see, but powerless to stop. Diarmid Ó Conaill, de Irlanda This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it |
