US to watch Russian-Venezuelan maneuvers 'very closely'

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Russian navy set for joint Venezuela exercises
A group of Russian warships are due to arrive in Venezuela on Tuesday, ahead of joint manoeuvres with the Venezuelan navy and a visit by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, a naval spokesman said. The detachment, including the nuclear-powered cruiser Peter the Great, will take part in manoeuvres with a major irritant of the United States in Latin America. "On November 25, the visit by a detachment of naval ships of the North Fleet to (the Venezuelan port of) La Guaira will start," the spokesman for the Russian navy Igor Dygalo said in a statement. "On December 1, the Russian warships will carry out joint naval manoeuvres with the navy of Venezuela." It said that the joint manoeuvres would involve operation planning, helping ships in distress and supplying ships that are on the move. Medvedev is due to visit Venezuela this week on the latest stop on a tour of Latin America and meet his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez, who is notorious for his repeated tirades against the United States. Russia's decision to hold the manoeuvres with Venezuela in Caribbean waters right under the nose of the United States has been seen as its latest signal of military defiance to Washington. Medvedev, who was due in Brazil on Monday, visits Venezuela on Wednesday before heading to communist Cuba. He met with US President George W. Bush in Lima at the weekend on the sidelines of a meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) Nov 24, 2008
The US State Department said Monday it will watch "very closely" upcoming Russian-Venezuelan naval maneuvers but dismissed any notion they were a challenge to US influence in the region.

In Moscow, the Russian navy said a group of Russian warships is due to arrive in Venezuela on Tuesday, ahead of joint exercises with the Venezuelan navy and a visit by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

"I don't think there's any question about who ... the region looks to in terms of political, economic, diplomatic and as well as military power," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters when asked for comment.

"If the Venezuelans and the Russians want to have, you know, a military exercise, that's fine, but we'll obviously be watching it very closely," he added.

"Contrast that with the recent meeting in Lima that just took place among APEC members, which they're talking about effective action to deal with global economic crisis," McCormack said.

"I think that's where people's attention is really focused," he said.

He was referring to the weekend summit in Peru of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, which focused on the global financial and economic crisis.

The summit was attended by Medvedev who is due to visit Venezuela and another US foe, Cuba, saying the time is right to revive "privileged relations" with Latin American countries that Moscow was close to in Soviet times.

Asked if the planned naval exercises -- combined with the Medvedev visit -- is provocative, McCormack replied: "I don't know if the intention was provocative. Certainly, we don't ... view it that way."

"We'll watch it closely. But I don't think a few Russian ships in ... the Caribbean with the Venezuelans is really going to raise anybody's eyebrows," McCormack said.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said Russia was "free to exercise peacefully with anyone that they want to exercise with, but also people note through these exercises the company that nations keep.

Analysts see Medvedev as taking a defiant message to Washington's doorstep, as he meets Cuba's communist leadership and oversees Russian naval exercises off Venezuela's coast.

Cuba's communist regime received massive support from Moscow in Soviet times, becoming the focus of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, a legendary nuclear stand-off between Moscow and Washington.

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Dogs of War: The global stability industry

Washington (UPI) Nov 21, 2008
The private military contracting industry is generally thought of in terms of two types of employees. There are logistics workers who drive the trucks, build and staff the bases, maintain the weapons, and do many other non-armed tasks. And then there are security contractors who carry guns and, when necessary, fight to protect their clients.

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