http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/11320427.htm
Rumsfeld slams Spain over sale of weapons In a comment likely to further chill the already cool U.S.-Spanish relations, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Tuesday criticized Madrid's recent decision to sell military planes and boats to Venezuela's leftist President Hugo Chávez. ''I personally think that Spain is making a mistake,'' Rumsfeld said in a wide-ranging telephone interview with The Herald. Rumsfeld, who returned March 25 from a tour of Argentina, Brazil and Guatemala -- his second trip to Latin America in the past five months -- said Washington is concerned about what Venezuela may do with its new weapons. ''I guess time will tell. The problem is that, if one waits till time tells, it can be an unhappy story,'' he said. U.S.-Spanish relations began to fray last year when Prime Minister José María Aznar, one of the staunchest supporters of the Bush administration's policy in Iraq, was replaced by José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. The new Socialist government then enraged the White House by pulling troops from Iraq. Then, during a visit last month to Venezuela, Rodríguez Zapatero announced that his country would sell eight military patrol boats and 10 transport planes to Venezuela. FEAR OF ARMS RACE Rumsfeld's comment came amid a political storm in Spain over the weapons sale. Aznar said during a recent visit to Miami that the sale to Chávez is ''profoundly irresponsible,'' because it could trigger an arms race with neighboring Colombia. Former Colombian President Andrés Pastrana, who lives in Spain, also denounced the sale, saying that patrol boats would be deployed in the Gulf of Venezuela, the focus of an unresolved border dispute between Venezuela and Colombia. Spanish government officials deny that the deal with Venezuela could ignite an arms race. They note that Rodríguez Zapatero visited Colombia immediately after Venezuela, and that he donated three military planes to that country. Rumsfeld also reiterated his concerns over Russia's sale of 100,000 Kalashnikov-style assault rifles to Venezuela -- a sale far larger than the one by Spain. Rumsfeld said, ``You have to ask the question, what are they going to do with them?'' U.S. officials, noting that the Venezuelan army has only 35,000 troops, say the purchases could help Marxist guerrillas in neighboring Colombia, or other violent groups in the hemisphere. Asked whether there is any evidence that Chávez may turn over these rifles to Colombian rebel groups, Rumsfeld said, ``I don't have any evidence . . . All I said was, I asked a question, what in the world [is the threat] that Venezuela sees that makes them want to have all those weapons?'' Rumsfeld declined to answer questions on claims made by other U.S. officials that Venezuela may be aiding the leftist guerrillas in Colombia and militant groups in Bolivia and Ecuador. ''If you ask which countries are being helpful [in solving Colombia's armed conflict], you would not put Venezuela on that list,'' he said. Rumsfeld said he had raised the issue of the Kalashnikovs' sale with Russian officials. ''They indicated that they didn't know how many they would actually sell them, and they didn't know whether Venezuela would actually buy them,'' he said. On Chávez's repeated claims that the Bush administration is planning to assassinate him, or to invade Venezuela, Rumsfeld said, ``that's just ridiculous.'' FAITH IN DEMOCRACY Rumsfeld painted an optimistic picture of Latin America. He cited Central America's integration efforts and several Latin American countries' decision to send peacekeeping troops to Haiti. ''The overwhelming majority of countries are democratic, and the overwhelming majority of countries are developing constructive relationships with each other,'' he said. ``Now, can you find places that are not being helpful? Sure. And you wish that weren't the case? Sure. But it's never been perfect in life. I must say, I think the hemisphere is generally moving very much in the right direction.'' -- After all, there is but one race - humanity. -- George Moore ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> DonorsChoose. A simple way to provide underprivileged children resources often lacking in public schools. Fund a student project in NYC/NC today! http://us.click.yahoo.com/EHLuJD/.WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. 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