U.S. Military Wants More Drones In Latin America

[zone]

U.S. Military Wants More Drones In Latin America

Posted: 06/13/2012 3:04 pm Updated: 06/13/2012 3:09 pm

The U.S. Military is looking to relocate some of their predator drones, sending some to South and Central America, according to a new article in Wired Magazine.

As US forces come home from Afghanistan, the US military seems to have a surplus of predator drones -- remotely operated unmanned aircraft vehicles often used to carry out attacks and intelligence gathering missions. Drones previously used in Afghanistan will be given to "operational missions by previously undeserved" commands, including those in the Pacific and in Southern America, according to Chief of Staff of the Air Force, General Norton Schwartz. While the exact number of drones, which will be sent to Latin America remains unknown, the implications of their presence remain hotly contested.

U.S. Military Wants More Drones In Latin America < click

 

[zone]

Air Force Chief: Some Drones Won’t Be Coming Home After Afghanistan

By Eric Beidel

As troops leave Afghanistan, so will hundreds of drones that have become a staple of military operations in recent years.

But the Air Force chief of staff has a message for those fearing an invasion of the national airspace by Predators, Reapers and Global Hawks. Contrary to some assumptions, the Air Force’s remotely piloted aircraft won’t all end up back in the United States, Gen. Norton Schwartz said June 11 at an Air Force Association breakfast in Arlington, Va.

As combat operations drawn down, much of the Air Force’s airborne surveillance capability will be sent to the Pacific and South America, where commanders have been clamoring for more intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets, Schwartz said. Some remotely piloted aircraft will be brought back to the continental United States, as well as to Hawaii and Guam.

“Some of the capacity will return to the states and we’ll use that to train organically and with our teammates,” Schwartz said. The rest will be used in operational missions by previously underserved combatant commands, particularly U.S. Southern Command and Pacific Command, he said.

Both commands have requested improved ISR capabilities. Southern Command wants to keep an eye on drug smuggling operations in South America and is seeking better sensors to get glimpses of criminals hiding in heavy jungle. Commander of Southern Command Air Force Gen. Douglas Fraser told reporters earlier this year that his troops only have fleeting access to the Global Hawk, which can fly at altitudes up to 65,000 feet and for up to 35 hours.

Still, officials have acknowledged that unmanned aircraft may not be the only answer to their needs.

“I’ve got to make sure, as we look at this overall problem, where [unmanned aerial vehicles] fit within the problem set,” Fraser said in March. “I’m not convinced that just because it’s a UAV, it will solve our problems.”

Current Predator and Reaper drones were not built for use in hostile skies. And in the Asia-Pacific region, there are potential adversaries that can deploy surface-to-air missiles, radar and other air defenses to counter unmanned planes. This region requires aircraft that can fly at higher altitudes for longer periods of time without being detected, officials said.

As a near-term solution, General Atomics has said it could increase the Reaper’s endurance up to 42 hours by extending its wings. The company also has been developing the more survivable Predator C Avenger, which is supposed to fly faster and higher than the current class.

Domestically, the Air Force continues to discuss with the Federal Aviation Administration the best options for flying its unmanned aircraft in training missions. Dozens of locales are bidding to be one of six spots around the country where drones will be able to fly in the same airspace as piloted aircraft.

“There is an inclination I think to try to find formerly restricted airspace where that might occur,” Schwartz said. The Air Force’s preference is to bring unmanned operations out of such space and into the national airspace “in order to broaden their access and enable us to train wherever our airmen or our joint teammates may reside,” he said.

Air Force Chief: Some Drones Won’t Be Coming Home After Afghanistan - Blog < click

 

[zone]

Israel, Colombia sign free trade agreement
Move opens up new market and ‘strengthens Israel’s position in Latin America,’ economics minister says

By GAVRIEL FISKE June 10, 2013, 4:17 pm 3

Israel and Colombia entered into a free trade agreement on Monday, the result of negotiations begun in 2011.

The document was signed by Economy and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett and Colombian Industry and Tourism Minister Sergio Diaz-Granados, in the presence of President Shimon Peres and Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem.

The agreement, to come into effect by the end of the year, will reduce tariffs on industrial and agricultural products between the two countries, and enable Israeli companies and individuals to invest with greater ease in the Colombia economy, considered one of the strongest in South America.

Israeli exports to Colombia totaled some $143 million in 2012, and consisted mostly of communications equipment, machinery, electrical and mechanical devices and chemical products, according to Hebrew news site News1.

Bennett said the agreement would open new markets for Israeli products and also “strengthen Israel’s position in Latin America.”

Israel, Colombia sign free trade agreement | The Times of Israel < click


strengthen Israel’s position in Latin America?

 

[zone]

Air Force Chief: Some Drones Won’t Be Coming Home After Afghanistan

By Eric Beidel

As troops leave Afghanistan, so will hundreds of drones that have become a staple of military operations in recent years.

But the Air Force chief of staff has a message for those fearing an invasion of the national airspace by Predators, Reapers and Global Hawks. Contrary to some assumptions, the Air Force’s remotely piloted aircraft won’t all end up back in the United States, Gen. Norton Schwartz said June 11 at an Air Force Association breakfast in Arlington, Va.

Dr. Strangelove, Made in Israel

by Philip Giraldi, April 15, 2010

One would expect the Air Force’s top civilian adviser to be someone who has spent some time in the US military or who has a very particular educational or skills set that brings something special to what is, after all, a very senior and sensitive position. Not so.

Dr. Lani Kass, who is the senior Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force General Norton A. Schwartz, was born, raised, and educated in Israel and then served in that country’s military where she reached the rank of major. She has a PhD in Russian studies but advises Air Force Generals on Cyberwarfare, terrorism, and the Middle East. And Kass appears to have close and continuing ties to her country of birth, frequently spicing her public statements with comments about life in Israel while parroting simplistic views of the nature of the Islamic threat that might have been scripted in Tel Aviv’s Foreign Ministry.

Kass’ official Air Force bio, which has been expunged from the Pentagon website possibly due to less than flattering commentary regarding her appointment, indicates that since January 2006 she has been "the principal adviser on policy and strategy and formulates, develops, implements, and communicates the policies, programs and goals of the Air Force." Another official bio adds that she "…conducts numerous complex, high priority special assignments involving research and fact-finding to develop analyses, position and issue papers, and generate new initiatives based on a variety of strategic subjects of critical importance to the Joint Staff and/or the Joint Force." There have also been suggestions that Kass has recently become an informal adviser to Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on Middle Eastern policy.

Dr. Lani Kass is married to Norman Kass, a former Pentagon Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, and resides in McLean, Virginia. She has been naturalized as a US citizen and is presumably a dual national who now holds both American and Israeli passports.

Dr. Strangelove, Made in Israel by Philip Giraldi -- Antiwar.com < click

 

[dashadow]

Whew! At first I thought this meant our Latino neighbors were going to be under attack. But I guess it really means these foreign governments and defense contractors will continue to get rich off the U.S. Government.

 

[zone]

Norton A. Schwartz

Norton A. Schwartz < click

General Schwartz discusses change in the U.S. Air Force

Posted 10/13/2010

by Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

10/13/2010 - WASHINGTON -- The world has changed and the United States Air Force must change too, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz said Oct. 12 at the National Press Club here.....

.....Being more efficient also requires a new way of working with others, General Schwartz said. The general said he and Adm. Gary Roughhead, the chief of naval operations, are fully committed to a new partnership called "Air-Sea Battle." The partnership, General Schwartz said, will enable the Navy and the Air Force to project power in new ways.

First, the Navy and Air Force will work together institutionally, General Schwartz said. A second way to work together, he said, calls for agreement on how Navy and Air Force systems will integrate and operate together.

"A third way of cooperating is materially with interoperability among current systems and integrated acquisition strategies for future joint capabilities," General Schwartz said. All this, he said, will amplify the services' effectiveness.

The U.S. Air Force defends the skies over the United States and allied countries and over friendly forces wherever they may be based, the general said. Precision strike worldwide, tanker and airlift support, satellite connectivity and early warning, he added, are all part of the Air Force's core mission. And, Airmen are helping to rebuild war-torn areas, conducting convoy operations, manning outposts and other non-traditional jobs, the general said.

Yet, "control of air and space; holding at risk practically any target on the Earth's surface; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; airlift and the command and control of air and space capabilities, again, will remain our most fundamental and enduring core contributions," General Schwartz said.

General Schwartz discusses change in the U.S. Air Force < click


The partnership, General Schwartz said, will enable the Navy and the Air Force to project power in new ways.


i don't know enough about American Military Affairs: i thought there was a deliberate separation between the various arms of the Military - are the Air Force and Navy supposed to be in partnership?

 

[zone]

Whew! At first I thought this meant our Latino neighbors were going to be under attack. But I guess it really means these foreign governments and defense contractors will continue to get rich off the U.S. Government.

well, clearly not all South American countries are happy with the arrangements.
i guess that's what the drones are for.

 

[zone]

i suppose in the Globalized world we now live in the question is moot.
but is it in America's interests to have the highest ranking members of Govt and Military be dual citizens?
no conflict of interest thing at all?
hmmm

 

[zone]

Colombia Identified as Secret UAV Buyer

Colombia has been identified as the mysterious buyer of Israeli Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) systems worth $50 million.

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
First Publish: 1/24/2012, 10:01 AM

Hermes 900
Elbit

Elbit had stated in a press release earlier this month that the UAVs were sold to an unidentified Latin America country. Several defense publications in the United States later pointed to Colombia, which sources said is interested in using the systems against rebels. Colombia previously has accused Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez of backing anti-government forces.

The Israeli-based Elbit is hoping the sale to Colombia will open up other markets in Latin America following its first export of the Hermes 900 to the Chilean air force last July.

Elbit sold its Hermes 900 tactical UAV, an advanced vehicle that can be deployed in difficult atmospheric conditions, fly as high as 33,000 feet and transmit images to a ground control station.

It also can take off and land automatically.

Colombia Identified as Secret UAV Buyer - Defense/Security - News - Israel National News < click


OH OKAY.
THAT MAKES SENSE.

 

[Ritter]

I don't want to derail this thread, but doesn't Schwartz look a bit like George Jones? One could weave a good conspiracy based off that alone.

 

[zone]

Colombia’s president awarded Shalom Prize

By Diego Melamed
October 23, 2012 3:56pm

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (JTA) — Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos was awarded the Shalom Prize for his commitment to seeking peace in his country and worldwide.

The prize, bestowed Tuesday at a ceremony in Bogota, is awarded by the Latin American chapter of the World Jewish Congress based in Buenos Aires.

“Both the people here and the people in Israel have been seeking peace for decades,” Santos said upon receiving the award.
Prior to the ceremony, WJC President Ronald Lauder and Latin American Jewish Congress President Jack Terpins held a private meeting with Santos, who praised the Jewish community for supporting him in the controversial decision to engage in the current talks with the rebel group FARC.

Santos added that Colombia supports a negotiated settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a two-state solution. However, a peace deal had to include the recognition of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people, he said, according to those present at the meeting.

The award was established to recognize individuals or organizations who seek peace. In 2008, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet received the award in recognition of his government’s efforts to build an inclusive society with full respect for minorities.

Read more: Colombia’s president awarded Shalom Prize | Jewish Telegraphic Agency


The award was established to recognize individuals or organizations who seek peace.

hang on....a ton of drones to fight rebels is seeking peace?

oh ya....war is peace.

and if you say "__________ supports a negotiated settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a two-state solution. However, a peace deal had to include the recognition of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people".......you get the PRIZE.

and other sweet deals i guess.









O, American money, how you grow on trees?

 

[Stephen63]

zone,
Columbia needs to buy something to keep its citizens away from its drug money, right? How else are they going to keep their eyes on it? It also cuts down on local competition, too.

 

[zone]

Tuesday, June 4th 2013 - 05:27 UTC

Strong reaction from Bolivarian countries to Colombia’s cooperation with NATO

President Juan Manuel Santos announcement over the weekend that Colombia will look for a cooperation understanding with NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) on their invitation, has irked the so called Latinamerican group of ‘anti-imperialist countries’, at a moment when relations between neighbouring Colombia and Venezuela have hit a new low.

Bolivian president Evo Morales took as a fact that Colombia is planning to join NATO, --something which Santos did not say--, and claimed the move was a ‘threat’, a ‘provocation’ and a conspiracy against the “anti-imperialist Bolivarian countries” of the continent.

Morales added that the threat was geared against Bolivia, Nicaragua, Ecuador and Venezuela, the country with which Colombia has had a serious diplomatic clash following the meeting of President Santos at the Government house, Palacio Nariño, with Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles.

The opposition leader does not consider President Nicolas Maduro and his government as legitimate since he argues there was “a notorious ballot fraud in the recent disputed election”.

“In June, NATO will sign an agreement with the Colombian government, with the Defense Ministry, to start a process of rapprochement and cooperation, with an eye toward also joining that organization,” Santos said at a military promotion ceremony.

Strong reaction from Bolivarian countries to Colombia’s cooperation with NATO &mdash; MercoPress < click


NATO?

 

[1still_waters]

Why are the Talmudics spying on Columbia?

 

[zone]

zone,
Columbia needs to buy something to keep its citizens away from its drug money, right? How else are they going to keep their eyes on it? It also cuts down on local competition, too.

LOL. right.
well, since we have the War on Terror (how much terror we have captured i don't know because terror is a thing); i reckon the War on Drugs is over (i wonder how many drugs have been brought to justice)?

 

[zone]

Why are the Talmudics spying on Columbia?

spying?
no, they are buying.

columbia makes a nice base of operations.

the Americas have to come under control, according to Marx and the Trilateral thingee.

 

[1still_waters]

spying?
no, they are buying.

What they be buying with their drones?

 

[zone]

Washington and the Breakdown of the Colombia-Venezuela-FARC Peace Process

Colombia - Venezuela - FARC-EP Peace ProcessColombia FARC-EP Peace Negotiations

US Subversion Of Latin America Peace

James Petras (JP),- Washington has devised a dual strategy toward Latin America. This involves a new set of ambitious imperial initiatives designed to undermine the principal anti-imperialist governments (Venezuela), social movements and armed insurgency (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia), while dismantling Latin America-centered integration and regional alliances, such as ALBA, Petro-Caribe, UNASUR and MERCOSUR.

At the same time the US seeks to establish an alternative US-centered ‘integration scheme’ through the Latin America and Asia-the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which encourages closer ties among neo-liberal states, like Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Chile with their energy and mining sector-dependent development strategies.

The involvement of Colombia is crucial to both of these ‘high priority’ objectives. In order to grasp the centrality of Colombia to current US strategy, it is essential to analyze the interplay of military, economic and political interests of the White House and Bogota.

US and Colombia

Santos said at the military ceremony that the Colombian government would sign an agreement of cooperation with NATO (SIG)

Washington’s interests in Colombia are largely defined by the policies it has pursued: The last three US Presidents have poured over $7 billion in military aid, building seven military bases and stationing several thousand rotating and permanent US military advisers to ‘advanced combat zones’. Colombia’s military has more than doubled in size to over 350,000 soldiers. In this context, Colombia has acted as an armed surrogate for US foreign policy, overtly intervening via cross border operations in Ecuador and Venezuela and serving as a platform for logistical and surveillance operations in the Caribbean, Andean, Amazonian and mid Pacific regions. US military interests are reinforced by economic ties, which have deepened via a bilateral free trade agreement and Bogota’s open embrace of large scale mining and energy exploitation.

Washington’s military strategists and ruling class allies in Colombia, however, face formidable opposition from three sources – two internal and one external. Internally, there is a vast alliance of social movements encompassing dispossessed peasants, farmers, and Indo and Afro-Colombian organizations, which have joined forces with trade unions, student confederations and human rights groups to oppose the civilian-military rulers who represent an elite 5% in control of over 70% of Colombia’s wealth.

Over 4.5 million peasants, who have been driven from their lands by the scorched earth ‘counter-insurgency’ policies devised by US and Israeli military strategists, are clamoring for their right to return to their farmsteads. Despite decades of repression and horrific massacres committed by the military and state-sponsored paramilitary death squads (Colombia has the world’s highest ongoing homicide rate of trade unionists), the regime in Bogota faces rising social and political opposition.

Washington and the Breakdown of the Colombia-Venezuela-FARC Peace Process | nsnbc international < click

these 4.5 million peasants are the 'rebels'; and that's what all the drones and stuff is for.
to keep them from thinking they have a right to return to what was taken from them.









O, MOs, why u so hard to recognize?

 

[zone]

the United States as a nation really has no over-riding interest here.
this is an elite globalist's ownership strategy taking shape.
s'just the United Fruit Company and those guys still.
the Dutch Indonesia lot.

they want their stuff.
just like Cuba...they want their stuff back (casinos and cocaine)

the ownership is a done deal.
death squads are required to convince the peasants and others.



coming to a neighborhood near you.

 

[zone]

Plan Colombia and the deforestation of the Amazon

Reminiscent of Vietnam, and as a result of the United States' War On Drugs, the aerial spraying of vast sections of the Colombian Amazon Jungle with Monsanto's Roundup Ultra (since 1999) in a supposed effort to eradicate coca (cocaine) plants being grown in the region has been occurring. The effectiveness of the program, however, is greatly in dispute. In fact, as with resistance issues plaguing Roundup Ready crops, the area has seen the emergence of a Roundup resistant variety of the coca plant known as Boliviana negra, see The Mystery of the Coca Plant That Wouldn't Die.

Additionally, peasants living in the area have been telling of widespread destruction to the forest and other devastating "collateral damage", damage which they say the United States and Monsanto have turned a deaf ear toward....

... The future of Colombia is in the hands of the United States who is interested in little more than profit for themselves. It is an example of neocolonialism at its best, and the effects are devastating and will continue to be. The environment and the poor farmers are the ones who are most affected, yet neither are the source of the problem." [16].

Yet when people showed up in 2001 at Monsanto headquarters to protest they were promptly arrested. "Several dozen protestors were demonstrating against the company's role in fumigating fields in Colombia in an attempt to kill the leaf used to make cocaine. Some demonstrators said the Roundup Ultra spray being used is being 'indiscriminately sprayed on families and farms, not just on growing coca plants,' the Associated Press reported. The demonstrators also said the spraying is negatively affecting water, soil and farmers in the region, and is causing respiratory and skin problems among residents, the AP reported" [17]. See also Plan Colombia needs to be reformed

Plan Colombia’s Drug Eradication Program Misses the Mark
Spray or Else: U.S. Cuts No Slack in Colombia...

Monsanto, Agent Orange, Dioxins and Plan Colombia - SourceWatch < click