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Originally Posted by Pigfish
What I found interesting was the the USA interfered with a deal made by Spain, a long term NATO Allie. I'm probably wrong but I don't recall seeing this before.
Your right about my knowledge of SA politics. Interesting about Brazil though. Maybe the planes Mirages are replacing? I think they bought Mirages instead of Grippens. :hmm:
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I'm not actually speaking about your knowledge, but misinformation in general.
In the article it mentions the Brazilian planes as:
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light combat and reconnaissance [aircraft]
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But Hugo Chavez himself said they were:
However, the ultimate truth is, according to the manufacturer and the Brazilian Air Force, that these aircraft are multipurpose fighter-bombers, yes, the old style, it's a poor man's turbo-prop F-16, it can be employed as reconnaissance aircraft, sure, so can an F-16. Can it operate in "light combat"? Sure, so can an F-16, but usually you don't think of a reconnaissance or a "light combat" aircraft as being capable of bombing, just like an F-16, but with lower payload, and that is not informed in the article nor was said by Hugo Chavez, it is not the trainer version he wanted to buy.
So the point is, Hugo Chavez already had a deal with Russia for helicopters and small arms, so, why did he chose to buy planes with American technology if he could simply call Putin and ask for the MiGs? To make noise, obviously, to victimize himself, obviously, and to pretend he has an alternative, he is smart, he is going to dribble the Americans, he found the solution, he is going to buy Russian planes! Well, he knew that all along, and he planned it all along, Hugo Chavez was not surprised by the American interference, he aimed for it from the beginning, and the press in general fell for his little trick like a puppy.