Venezuela May Sell US Jets To Iran

[Milton Bradley]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americ....ap/index.html

Quote by: CNN article CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Venezuela's military is considering the possibility of selling its fleet of U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets to another country, perhaps Iran, a Venezuelan military official said Tuesday. In response to a U.S. ban on arms sales to President Hugo Chavez's government, Gen. Alberto Muller, a senior adviser to Chavez, told The Associated Press he had recommended to the defense minister that Venezuela consider selling the 21 jets to another country. Venezuela originally purchased its fleet of F-16s in 1983. Until Chile acquired a fleet in 2003, Venezuela was the only Latin American country to possess the warplanes made by Lockheed Martin Corp. Chavez has accused the United States of breaching its contract to supply parts for the planes and of pressuring other countries not to help maintain them. "The recommendation that I'm making to the minister, and which I will make to the president at the appropriate time, is that the [F-16s] be sold to a third party because if they aren't complying with their part of the agreement, we don't have any obligation to comply with our part," Muller told the AP.

What can I say but hardy har har har.

[Apeman81]

Quote by: Milton Bradley http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americ....ap/index.html What can I say but hardy har har har.

The U.S. exports an inferior model to such nations. Performance, avionics, and weaponry are all comensurately poorer than those maintained in the domestic fleet.

Not much of a "har har" really. If not second hand, inferior U.S. made equipment, they'll buy FSU or Chinese hand-me-downs.

At least we make the profit this way.

[westcoastdog]

The reason Venezuela is selling the jets is they can't get spare parts. Iran has a lot of U.S. aircraft from the Shah era and the planes are just gathering desert dust. If Iran buys the jets, it's to cannabalize them. Jets have high maintenance costs and parts must be replaced often.

[Rainbow]

Venezuela's military is considering the possibility of selling its fleet of U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets to another country, perhaps Iran, a Venezuelan military official said Tuesday. In response to a U.S. ban on arms sales to President Hugo Chavez's government, Gen. Alberto Muller, a senior adviser to Chavez, told The Associated Press he had recommended to the defense minister that Venezuela consider selling the 21 jets to another country.

Does it mean Venezuela is about to switch for balloons ? :-)
It seems Iran is about to open new tourist attraction : world aircrafts museum.
F-16 is going to be the top unit, I bet :-)

[tinybear]

Quote by: Milton Bradley http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americ....ap/index.html What can I say but hardy har har har.

Why 'hardy har har har'?

[RickSp]

Quote by: westcoastdog The reason Venezuela is selling the jets is they can't get spare parts. Iran has a lot of U.S. aircraft from the Shah era and the planes are just gathering desert dust. If Iran buys the jets, it's to cannabalize them. Jets have high maintenance costs and parts must be replaced often.

Iran doesn't have any F16s. Just old F-4 Phantoms and F14s, so the F16s won't be of much use for spare parts. On the other hand Iran may find mor euse for them than the Venezuelans.

[Milton Bradley]

Quote by: tinybear Why 'hardy har har har'?

I love to see people who intentionally screw other people over take it up the backside sometimes. Nobody deserves a more thorough reaming than G. W. & Co. I hope every nation on earth has a turn on this guy.


Not only that, but this is yet another time that we have been exposed as hypocrites deserving of such contempt, ans no soooner that the wronged party tries to rectify the situation they get painted as the bad guy.


I guess you should just consider me somebody who thinks we ought to be playing fair. ( Or, in terms more familiar to most of you here, one of those nice guys finishing last. )

[brien]

Quote by: Milton Bradley http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americ....ap/index.html What can I say but hardy har har har.

It really doesn't matter who these war jets are sold to because if the US wants to eliminate them, they will destroy them in a NY minute. Particulary if they sell them to Iran. What a perfect excuse for the US to attack Iran, destroy them during their shipment to Iran, or just simply sabatoge them on the ground before they are even shipped to Iran.

This "rub your nose in it" suggestion by Chavez seems to be made for the media because of his tilted relations with the Bush Adminstration. I doubt we will see this sale transacted and completed.

[Samildanach]

Does it mean Venezuela is about to switch for balloons.

You may have something there....imagine if you will lots of very small homing micromissles strapped to baloons that could be released from the ground with proximity sensors that switched on once they reached a certain level in the sky. hundreds could be be released all at once in the path of oncoming jets.....it would be a very very cheap effective defense system if the micro missles were advanced enough.

[Samildanach]

I call it the hot air defense system...hehehe :)

[bishop]

http://www.foxnews.com/printer_frien...195777,00.html

CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela's defense minister said Tuesday that there are no immediate plans to sell U.S.-made fighter jets despite a dispute over replacement parts — backing away from one general's statement that the planes could go to Iran. Defense Minister Adm. Orlando Maniglia said a sale of the 21 F-16s wasn't in the works and President Hugo Chavez "has not given any order" as to what to do with the aircraft. Gen. Alberto Muller, an adviser to Chavez, said earlier he had recommended to the defense ministry that Venezuela consider selling its F-16s after the U.S. announced a ban on arms sales to the South American country. Muller said he thought it worthwhile to consider "the feasibility of a negotiation with Iran for the sale of those planes." But Maniglia said that was Muller's personal opinion only and that he "is not a spokesman of the armed forces." The Iranian Embassy in Caracas said no deal involving warplanes had been proposed. The defense minister also said the United States has violated a contract by refusing to sell Venezuela replacement parts for its jets, even after Venezuela paid for those parts. "I've honestly grown tired of asking for replacement parts for the F-16s," Maniglia said at a news conference. "I've got my list. We've paid. We have money deposited in the United States." He claimed that Washington has kept U.S., Israeli and South Korean firms from shipping parts. U.S. officials did not immediately respond to the new accusation that the parts were already paid for, but they have previously said they are complying with the F-16 sale contract.

[Milton Bradley]

Quote by: brien It really doesn't matter who these war jets are sold to because if the US wants to eliminate them, they will destroy them in a NY minute. Particulary if they sell them to Iran. What a perfect excuse for the US to attack Iran, destroy them during their shipment to Iran, or just simply sabatoge them on the ground before they are even shipped to Iran. This "rub your nose in it" suggestion by Chavez seems to be made for the media because of his tilted relations with the Bush Adminstration. I doubt we will see this sale transacted and completed.

Yeah, I was not suggersting that they could be used as an effective weapons platform against us, only that he was flinging the political poop at the right person.