I beg to differ. Those Forward Operating Locations off the coast of Venezuela have been there over a decade. While the extension of US basing agreements in Colombia is obnoxious and
counterproductive, they are not a pretext for an invasion of Venezuela.
Can anyone imagine Obama authorizing yet another quagmire? The US military is stretched to the breaking point and there is no money for another war. Yet Chavez has been telling his people that invasion is just around the corner. I think that has more to do with uniting his base and distracting Venezuelans from very serious domestic problem at home than any serious external threat.
There are both Colombian guerillas and paramilitaries operating across the porous border in Venezuela. Those are far greater security risks for Venezuela than US forces. Also, let’s not forget that Chavez is also a drug warrior who is hell bent on showing the world that he’s not soft on drugs.
The US base access agreement signed with Colombia last year was done largely based on bureaucratic momentum. The Western Hemisphere division of the State Department was full of Bush holdovers and SOUTHCOM always wants anything that can raise its profile relative to CENTCOM and other military commands where there is active fighting (and hence a pathway to career advancement and larger budgets).
Both Obama and Clinton have been focused on other parts of the world. Latin America policy has been run by zombies on autopilot for the past year.
Finally, I would urge extreme caution to anyone who uses the Global Research website. It is a notorious conspiracy theory factory. Just read their section on 9/11 conspiracies if you don’t believe me!
Agreed. Like Obama would even think about attacking one of his fellow socialists like Hugo Chavez.