Mérida, April 15, 2008 (venezuelanalysis.com)-- A South American
defense council to mediate regional conflicts and defend South America
from foreign intervention could be concretized this year, the Brazilian
Defense Minister Nelson Jobim said after meeting with President Hugo
Chávez in Caracas Monday.
“We are going to make it so that the strength of South America is born
of the union of our peoples,” the minister told the press Monday
evening.
“It is impossible to talk about problems in isolated form; we should
resolve the problems in conjunction and in unity," Jobim articulated,
assuring that any problem affecting one South American country affects
the whole region.
Although regional military integration had been discussed in the past,
the topic was recharged by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio “Lula” da
Silva during the diplomatic crisis sparked by Colombian military
incursions into Ecuadorian territory in March.
Jobim and Chávez decided to put the topic on the agenda of the summit
of UNASUR, a South American integration organization, scheduled for May
23rd. In the meantime, Jobim will confer with every South American
president. If the presidents decide at the summit decide to move
forward on the council, Jobim intends to hold a general “ascertainment”
meeting within four months, and then "it is a reality that by the end
of this year it could be constituted," he proclaimed Monday.
The minister made clear that "there is no possibility of participation
by the United States because the council is South American and the U.S.
is not in South America,” and said he already met with U.S. Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to
firmly establish this.
He made special mention of the fact that “we have no obligation to ask
for a license from the United States to do this," and emphasized that
the council could help South America “acquire a very strong presence in
the concert of world relations."
President Chávez pledged enthusiastic support for the council as well
as several other regional integration efforts that stretch beyond South
America.
“From Mexico to Argentina, we are one whole nation,” Chávez proclaimed
Sunday at a demonstration in Caracas to commemorate the six year
anniversary of the U.S.-backed two-day coup against his presidency.
“If a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) exists,” he postulated,
“why can’t a SATO exist, a South Atlantic Treaty Organization?"
However, Minister Jobim clarified that distinct from NATO, “the
intention of the council is not to form a classical military alliance,”
specifying that “there is no operational intention,” and “there is no
expansionist pretension.”
The defense council would promote joint military trainings and defense
bases, and “military industrial integration” in order to “ensure the
supply of the necessary elements for defense,” the minister clarified.
“Dissuasive defense” would be the aim, he continued, adding that it is
important for countries to acquire arms and maintain their militaries
“in order to have and to project a capacity for dissuasion.”
This in no way constitutes an arms buildup, Jobim insisted. He said
those who have made public statements suggesting that a Latin American
arms race is taking place, such as the U.S. government, “are mistaken”
and “want to impede South American unity.”
This was echoed by Alberto Müller Rojas, spokesperson for the newly
formed United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and retired general,
who reiterated Monday that South American countries, “are not thinking
about promoting an arms race.”
Instead, Rojas considers the defense council a “guarantee of peace” in
the region, because it will help South America “achieve a space where
we can act with relative freedom of movement to resolve our problems.”
The party leader insisted that "the war we wish to defend is to
overcome the enormous social inequalities that grip the continent," but
maintained that an organized defense is important in order to repel
external interference.
Brazil was the only Latin American country to rank among the top 15
countries in world military spending in 2006, when it spent $13.4
billion on the military, ranking 14th and encompassing 1% of the
world’s military spending, according to the Sweden-based Stockholm
International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Venezuelan military
spending was $1.9 billion that year, SIPRI records show, and the New
York Times reports Pentagon figures that show increases since then.
Also, the only arms producer in Latin America is Brazil’s Embraer
corporation, which is perched to benefit from sales to members of the
proposed council. With $390 million in sales in 2005, Embraer ranked
93rd in the world among arms producers, according to SIPRI.
In comparison, the top three arms production companies were U.S.-based
Boeing, and Northrop Grumman, and Lockheed Martin, which sold a
combined $82.1 billion in 2005. The United States was by far the
world’s top military spender, with a budget of $529 billion in 2006,
encompassing 46% of world military spending, SIPRI figures show.
Since 2003, Chávez and Lula have discussed a joint navigation of the
Orinoco River in order to “strengthen the sovereignty of the Amazon,”
in the words of the Venezuelan president. In January 2008, Chávez and
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega proposed a joint military force with
Bolivia, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic, which are all members of the
fair trade initiative called the Bolivarian Alternative for the
Americas (ALBA). Shortly after this, Lula announced Brazil would move
forward on a “Regional Block of Military Power” that would be managed
by the defense council that Jobim and Chávez discussed in Caracas
Monday.
http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/3361
Very good move and project. Now that USA is busy in Iraq, all the other smaller players are asserting themselves.
I hope USA will stay in Iraq until 2020, so that the smaller players will have a space to make moves.
USA cannot interfere. All troops dying in Iraq.