South American Defense Council
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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 Chavez 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 Chavez 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 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.”
An organized defense is important in order to repel external interference.
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 Chavez 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,” Chavez proclaimed Sunday at a demonstration in Caracas to commemorate the six year anniversary of the U.S.-backed two-day coup against his presidency.
In January 2008, Chavez and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega proposed a joint military force with Bolivia, Cuba, and Dominica, 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 Chavez discussed in Caracas Monday.
http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/3361
“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 Chavez 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 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.”
An organized defense is important in order to repel external interference.
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 Chavez 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,” Chavez proclaimed Sunday at a demonstration in Caracas to commemorate the six year anniversary of the U.S.-backed two-day coup against his presidency.
In January 2008, Chavez and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega proposed a joint military force with Bolivia, Cuba, and Dominica, 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 Chavez discussed in Caracas Monday.
http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/3361