Tuesday, September 01, 2009

DTN News: Brazil Slams U.S. Bases In Colombia

DTN News: Brazil Slams U.S. Bases In Colombia *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) BRASILIA, Brazil - September 1, 2009: The imminent use of seven bases in Colombia by the U.S. military is "a serious problem" that has to be discussed further by South America's leaders, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Aug 31. The President of Colombia Alvaro Uribe (L) listens to his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Ignacio Lula Da Silva during the family picture of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) presidential summit in San Carlos de Bariloche, Rio Negro, Argentina on August 28, 2009. South American presidents attacked Friday plans for US bases in Colombia at a summit in Argentina, voicing their fears of renewed interference by Washington in their region.'It's about mobility to make war,' said Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the fiercest opponent of the plan, as he brandished a document he said was a US air force strategy document setting out that aim. "The treaty between Colombia and the United States needs to have a legal guarantee allowing any other country that feels threatened to go before international forums," Lula said in his weekly radio broadcast. The controversial bases deal, details of which first came to light in Colombia's press mid-July, was the subject of a stormy summit between South American presidents on Aug. 28. That meeting heard fears by Venezuela and other countries that the expanded U.S. military presence in Colombia - ostensibly to fight drug traffickers - could be used against neighboring nations, several of which have leftist anti-U.S. governments. It issued a statement warning "foreign military forces" against threatening the national sovereignty of other countries, without mentioning the U.S. or Venezuela by name. It also agreed South America would examine the issue further in future meetings. Lula said he wanted the region's fledgling defense council to study the "real border situation of all the countries" and another council on fighting drug trafficking to examine ways the region can tackle the issue itself with U.S. involvement. "We need to take on the responsibility of looking after our noses, looking after our territory, looking after our borders," he said.

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