Ok, I only read about half the comments. Wow...
The guy is a megalomaniac and power tripper. He wants to be THE regional military power.
Yes I think he is setting himself up to have a loyal military to control the people and stop any coups. He is setting himself up as President for Life (aka a Dictator). Military loyalty to a dictator can be a tricky thing. I am sure he has tried to purge the officers that were there prior to his election and certainly any that fought against him - or at the very least marginalize them as much as possible.
I also have doubts that he is going to go on the Offensive against Columbia or any other neighbors but you never know. He is not a friend of capitalism or democracy at all. He is a power hungry monster that found a non-violent path to leadership when he couldn't do it through violence. He doesn't care about the people - only power. Now that he is in power, I dare the people of Venezuela to try and take it away.
I disagree with comments that we are even considering remotely any military interactions with Chavez. If he were to attack Columbia though, I believe that tact could change pretty quickly. But we are so over extended it's a joke. We need to get out of Iraq first and let the Shiites squash the Sunnis there and have the Kurds break off into New Kurdistan. That's the only way the violence will end.
As for all these stupid plane comments... When you are talking about countries without much of an air force - those are very powerful planes. The main attack plane of the Colombian Air Force is a PROPELLER driven plane. So the shoulder missiles would work well against many of the planes in Columbia's Air Force and their Helicopters. Not to mention any US Helicopters there that may get "involved".
"Rockets" - I am sorry, but an RPG should not be called a Missle. I get the impression the writer is considering them just that. It's just part of the sensationalizing of this article.
As for the Tanks... Those are not much use in the jungle. T-72's design is essentially 50 years old. They entered production in 1971 and were based off an older design. They have been "modernized" several times. The latest tanks do have fairly modern frontal armor though. I think they are mainly aimed at containing the population. We have seen how well they stand up to the US military. The modern tanks we have didn't even slow down when they faced them. So, can you say "crowd control"? I mean they'd work in a regional conflict. But we seen in Vietnam just how much use tanks often weren't.
Basically Chavez, a second rate dictator, is arming himself with 3rd world armaments. It won't deter the American Army and he knows that. So one can only think it is to suppress his people and/or intimidate/attack his neighbors. I hear how poorly the people are doing in Venezuala even with the nationalization of key industries. He has spent 4 billion on weapons though. So what do you think he plans? An empire of course. Fidel is his hero after all.
