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Binding ties: Air Force wants Latin America to be less dependent on U.S. military.(Southern Command)
- Article from:
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National Defense
- Article date:
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June 1, 2008
- Author:
- Jean, Grace V.
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Copyright informationCOPYRIGHT 2008 National Defense Industrial Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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SANTIAGO, Chile -- The Air Force is requesting more than $300 million to help modernize the aircraft fleets of four Latin American nations that assist the United States in the war on drugs and in humanitarian missions.
The project also is part of a broader effort to make these countries less dependent on U.S. military support at a time when forces are overstretched by deployments to the Middle East and South Asia.
Officials say $84 million would help jump start efforts to upgrade the airlift, helicopter and interceptor fleets in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala.
"It's that first line of defense that we're trying to build in Latin America," says Lt. ...