[NYTr] US Southern Command Admiral Sees No Threat from Venezuela
 
Date: Mon, 2 Jul 2007 16:49:07 -0500 (CDT)


Via NY Transfer News Collective  *  All the News that Doesn't Fit
 
excerpted from VIO Venezuela News Update - Jul 2, 2007

[The Financial Times profiles James Stavridis, head of the U.S. Southern
Command's military operations in Latin America, who said he does not
perceive Venezuela as a threat to the U.S. -VIO]

The Financial Times - July 2, 2007
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/c7583b88-2834-11dc-80da-000b5df10621.html

'Here, we are not launching missiles, we are launching ideas'

By Demetri Sevastopulo

When Admiral James Stavridis was a young naval officer serving on an
Aegis cruiser in the Strait of Hormuz in 1987, he was faced with a very
hard decision.

When an Iranian aircraft started approaching the ship, he, as the
tactical action officer, was responsible for advising the captain
whether to launch a missile.

"The aircraft was coming at us, coming at us, coming at us, and I
almost launched a missile at it, but then decided not to at the last
minute because I felt the ship could probably defend itself in a point
engagement," explains Adm Stavridis. "It turned out to be the right
decision. The aircraft went back.

"The incident comes back to me at times, because it tells you that in
the world we live in, it is good to hold back on the key sometimes."

Twenty years later, his role overseeing US military operations in Latin
America and the Caribbean as head of the US military's Southern Command
is very different.

"In this area of the world, we are not launching Tomahawk missiles, we
are launching ideas."

Adm Stavridis says the real problems in the region are poverty,
inequality and corruption. He partly attributes the rise in
"anti-Yanquismo" sentiment in parts of the region topoverty.

He says the US needs to work harder in the marketplace for ideas, to
win the hearts and minds of people in the region. He points, as an
example, to the USNS Comfort, a Navy hospital ship that had just that
day pulled into Belize to provide medical services to the local
population.

Since assuming command last October, he has been preparing a plan to
restructure Southcom to include non-military personnel to better
address the non-military challenges faced in the region.

"I don't need Humvees down here, I don't need high-priced fighter
aircraft," says Adm Stavridis. "I need the inter-agency and I need to
hook up with private-public ventures . . . like Operation Smile,
Doctors without Borders, and the American Red Cross."

While there has been some resistance to his proposal from government
agencies who are concerned about the Pentagon's ability to work as a
partner, Adm Stavridis says his proposal - which he will formally make
to Robert Gates, the defence secretary, later this year - has been well
received.

"Over the decades ahead, this kind of interagency approach and this
private-public approach is the future of US national security in Latin
America, in Africa, in Pacific Command, and I would argue eventually in
Central Command," says Adm Stavridis.

Unlike other regional combatant commands, Southcom is not involved in
fighting any wars. But Adm Stavridis also has some more traditional
military concerns in the region, such as Venezuela.

While he says people should remember that the US has traditionally
enjoyed an excellent relationship with Venezuela, he also raises
concerns about the country's purchase of arms, including AK-103
weapons, fighter aircraft, and reports of plans to buy submarines.

But in spite of the arms purchases, he says he does not perceive
Venezuela as a threat, and would like to improve military relations and
co-operation on counter-narcotics with the country.

Adm Stavridis also concedes that there is an argument that the US would
benefit from military relations with its decades-old enemy Cuba, but
says he is comfortable with the national policy.

He says his greatest concern about Cuba is the prospect of a mass
migration after the death of President Fidel Castro. But he is more
cautious than many about when that will happen.

"Any 80-year old man who has had 10 gastric operations over a six-month
period has got to be considered somewhat at risk," he says.

"On the other hand, he is a very resilient guy, and he may be running
the Boston marathon next year."
       
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