Meanwhile, The Empire Is On The Move Building Forts In Latin America

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Meanwhile, The Empire Is On The Move Building Forts In Latin

America

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, The Empire Is On The Move Building Forts In Latin America

 

 

http://www.excal.on.ca/index.php?option==com_content & task==view & id=3 & Itemid==2

 

 

Is the US poised for intervention?

 

 

Written by Benjamin Dangl - Contributor

Wednesday, 05 October 2005

 

 

Fears mount as US opens new military installation in Paraguay

 

Controversy is raging in Paraguay, where the US military is conducting

secretive operations. Five hundred US troops arrived in the country on

Jul. 1, 2005 with planes, weapons and ammunition. Eyewitness reports

prove that an airbase exists in Mariscal Estigarribia, Paraguay, which

is 200 kilometres from its border with Bolivia and may be utilized by

the US military. Officials in Paraguay claim the military operations

are routine humanitarian efforts and deny that any plans are underway

for a US base. Yet human rights groups in the area are deeply worried.

White House officials are using rhetoric about terrorist threats in

the tri-border region (where Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina meet) in

order to build their case for military operations, which are in many

ways reminiscent of the build up to the invasion of Iraq.

 

The tri-border area is home to the Guarani Aquifer, one of the world's

largest reserves of water. Near the Estigarribia airbase are Bolivia's

natural gas reserves, the second largest in Latin America. Political

analysts believe US operations in Paraguay are part of a preventative

war to control these natural resources and suppress social uprisings

in Bolivia.

 

Argentinian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Adolfo Perez Esquivel commented

on the situation in Paraguay and warned, " Once the United States

arrives, it takes a long time to leave. And that really frightens me. "

 

The Estigarribia airbase was constructed in the 1980s for US

technicians hired by the Paraguayan dictator Alfredo Stroessner, and

is capable of housing 16,000 troops. A journalist writing for the

Argentinian newspaper, Clarin, recently visited the base and reported

it to be in perfect condition, capable of handling large military

planes. It's oversized for the Paraguayan air force, which only has a

handful of small aircrafts.

The base has an enormous radar system, huge hangars and an air traffic

control tower. The airstrip itself is larger than the one at the

international airport in Asuncion, the Paraguayan capital. Near the

base is a military camp which has recently grown in size.

 

" Estigarribia is ideal because it is operable throughout the year ...

I am sure that the US presence will increase, " said Paraguayan defense

analyst Horacio Galeano Perrone.

 

Denials and immunity

 

" The national government has not reached any agreement with the United

States for the establishment of a US military base in Paraguay, "

states a communiqué signed by Paraguayan foreign minister Leila

Rachid. The US Embassy in Paraguay has also released statements

officially denying plans to set up a military base in the country.

The Pentagon used this same language when describing its actions in

Manta, Ecuador, now the home of an $80 million US military base.

First, they said the facility was an archaic " dirt strip " , which would

be used for weather monitoring and would not permanently house US

personnel. Days later, the Pentagon stated that Manta was to serve as

a major military base tasked with a variety of security-related missions.

 

Paraguayan political analyst and historian Milda Rivarola said that,

" In practice, there has already been a [uS] base operating in Paraguay

for over 50 years. " The US armed forces have had an ongoing presence

in the country, she said. " In the past, they needed congressional

authorization every six months, but now they have been granted

permission to be here for a year and a half. "

 

On May 26, 2005 the Paraguayan Senate granted the US troops total

immunity from national and international criminal court jurisdiction

until Dec. 2006. The legislation is automatically extendable. Since

Dec. 2004, the US has been pressuring Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela and

Paraguay into signing a deal which would grant immunity to US

military. The Bush administration threatened to deny the countries up

to $24.5 million in economic and military aid if they refused to sign

the immunity deal. Paraguay was the only country to accept the offer.

 

Coup warning in Bolivia

 

The proximity of the Estigarribia base to Bolivian natural gas

reserves, and the fact that the military operations coincide with a

presidential election in Bolivia, has also been a cause for concern.

The election is scheduled to take place on Dec. 4, 2005. Bolivian

Workers Union leader Jaime Solares and Movement Toward Socialism (MAS)

legislator Antonio Peredo, have warned of US plans for a military coup

to frustrate the elections. Solares said the US Embassy backs right

wing ex-president Jorge Quiroga in his bid for office, and will go as

far as necessary to prevent any other candidate's victory.

 

The most recent national poll showed left wing MAS congressman Evo

Morales was barely one point behind Quiroga in the race. Solares said

there were calls in Jun. 2005 for a military coup during the massive

protests that toppled president Carlos Mesa. Recent US military

operations in neighboring Paraguay would facilitate such an intervention.

 

The Bush administration played a key role in the 2002 coup against

president Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and the 2004 ousting of Haitian

president Jean Bertrand Aristide.

 

The Tri-Border terror theory

 

In March, William Pope, the US State Department's principal deputy

coordinator of counterterrorism, said that 9/11 mastermind Khalid

Sheik Mohammed is believed to have visited the tri-border area for

several weeks in 1995. Defense officials say that Hezbollah and Hamas,

radical Islamic groups from the Middle East, " get a lot of funding "

from this tri-border area, and that further unrest in the region could

leave a political " black hole " that would erode other democratic efforts.

 

Military analysts from Uruguay and Bolivia maintain that the threat of

terrorism is often used by the US as an excuse for military

intervention and the monopolization of natural resources. In the case

of Paraguay, the US may be preparing to secure the Guarani water

reserves and Bolivia's natural gas.

 

In spite of frequent attempts to link terror networks to the

tri-border area, there is little proof of the connection. However,

this did not prevent the US from " liberating " Iraq in 2003. As

secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld argued during the debate over

weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, " Simply because you do not have

evidence that something does exist does not mean that you have

evidence that it doesn't exist. "

 

Paraguayan and US officials contend that much of the recent military

collaborations are based on health and humanitarian work. However,

State Department reports do not mention any funding for health works

in Paraguay. They do mention that funding for the Counterterrorism

Fellowship Program (CTFP) in the country doubled for 2005.

The report explained, " Bilateral relations between the US and Paraguay

are strong, with Paraguay providing excellent cooperation in the fight

against terrorism ... CTFP provided funds for Paraguayans to attend

courses on the dynamics of international terrorism, and the importance

and application of intelligence in combating terrorism. "

 

Col. Hugo Mendoza of the Paraguayan army said he's thankful the US

military is helping Paraguay meet security threats through the joint

exercises. " We're learning new things and working with new equipment

and the latest technology which we would not be able to afford otherwise. "

 

Journalist and human rights activist Alfredo Boccia Paz said, " These

missions are always disguised as humanitarian aid ... what Paraguay

does not and cannot control is the total number of agents that enter

the country. "

 

Meanwhile, neighboring countries have not warmly received the news of

the military activity. The Chilean Communist Party demanded that

Paraguayan president Nicanor Duarte " reconsider and cancel " recent

military deals with the US as they are " extremely serious for Latin

America. "

 

In Paraguay, human rights and activist organizations have mobilized

against the military activity. When Donald Rumsfeld visited the

country in August, protesters greeted his entourage with chants such

as, " Rumsfeld, you fascist, you are the terrorist! " as a military band

welcomed him by playing the " Star Spangled Banner " .