Argentina seizes US military cargo
So we go down to Argentina to train President Christina Fernandez’ police for hostage rescue. Sounds like a nice thing to do, right? Well, the Argentinians turn around and seize the cargo of the C-17 bringing the mission assets back to the US. (Wall Street Journal link)
Relations between Argentina and the U.S. have deteriorated rapidly since U.S. President Barack Obama said in January that he would visit El Salvador, Brazil and Chile next month, skipping Argentina.
Argentine officials reportedly considered Mr. Obama’s decision an affront, especially after Argentine President Cristina Fernandez in December blocked a bid by some South American nations to formally condemn U.S. policy amid the WikiLeaks diplomatic cables scandal.
The leaked cables contained unflattering comments about several Latin American leaders, including Ms. Fernandez.
More of that smart diplomacy we’ve been hearing about, I suppose. They all hated us under Bush, but at least they didn’t do some stupid shit like this.
Recently widowed Fernandez’ (formerly Kirchner) was financed during her political campaign by Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez in the famous “maleta-gate” scandal.
Thanks to Old Trooper for the link.
Category: Barack Obama/Joe Biden, Foreign Policy, Hugo Chavez
I find it interesting that they can hold the cargo from a C-17 (it doesn’t say if they are holding the aircraft as well) when we were there to train their people. The big excuse is the morphine that the SF medic was carrying. Do they want us as well as Great Britain on the outs with them? Well, ok, we know that this administration isn’t very intimidating, so it’s not like they’re worried about anything.
Probably just as well they didn’t seize our personnel, or they’d get an up-close-and-personal view on how we handle hostage-rescue.
I doubt they could have seized the personnel, since it was a SF team, unless the “diplomats” ordered them to surrender. Of course, they would have only been in custody for a very short time once their E&E training kicked in.
That would have “left a mark and required therapy,” lol!
PN, if they had seized the personnel, I’m afraid we’d have been treated to Jimmah Cahtah version 2, and they’d still be there when the next administration was sworn into office.
Quite possibly the case, UpNorth. Unfortunately.
The article also goes on to state that the dude who personally supervised the seizure may be using this to score points with his constituents.
This, following the revelations that our Dept of State wanted to know the drug and sleep habits of the Argentine president.
If this is evidence of the adults being in charge, someone may want to give them a checkup from the neck up to see if senility has set in.
Dave, not senility, juvenile gotcha is more like it. This does fit in with the same mentality at DoS who couldn’t get over Karzai’s choice of sweaters he wore, over on the other side of the world.
But, this is indicative of yet another case of asshattery this administration just can’t help in engaging in.
Here’s an irony: the same woman in charge of diplomacy, and responsible for a number of debacles, was the other choice for Democrats in 2008. Had she been elected President, we’d still having our hats handed to us.
Foreign Policy, among other things, is a serious weakness for those folks.
But asshattery is all they know, U.P….ROFL!
704 days, 704 days, 704 days……………
It would have been a great training for SF to go and spring the team, then charge the Argentine Army for expenses incurred.
SMART POWER!
704 and counting, ROS. And I heard something last night that I have been waiting 2 years to hear. Here in the former People’s Republic of Michigan, the Chairman’s approval rating has dipped to 30%…… Even the sewers along I-75 are waking up.
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