Miami Herald: Air Force two-star to No. 2 slot at Southern Command

[seafan]

Air Force two-star to No. 2 slot at Southern Command

Herald Staff Report
May 15, 2006

An Air Force general is coming down from Washington to become deputy commander of the Southern Command, the Pentagon's Miami headquarters for U.S. military operations in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Pentagon announced at the close of business Friday the appointment of Air Force Maj. Gen. Glenn F. Spears, who is presently director of Force Management Policy in the division of Manpower and Personnel at Air Force headquarters in Washington.

He replaces another Air Force two-star general, who is retiring from service. Maj. Gen. Richard A. Mentemeyer, the current Southcom deputy, retires July 1.

snip

The Defense Department announced the appointment a week after naming a Navy admiral to become so-called combatant commander of Southcom, a 15.6-million-square-mile patch of territory covering 32 nations south of the U.S. border.

The nomination of Navy Vice Adm. James G. Stavridis as Southcom commander awaits Senate confirmation.

[Bonhomme Richard]

1. Has anyone else noticed how much prominance.........

Air Force brass has gotten since the neocons took over?

[seafan]

3. The intent is to concentrate ALL power into the Pentagon.

...and ordered by the Executive in power.

Not only military operations, but intelligence operations and intelligence analysis. The CIA is the last civilian intelligence agency left. And * wants to destroy it.

Couple this with the war games going on in the Caribbean region not far off Venezuela's coast, the *missing shipment* of heavy arms that never made it to Iraq, and reports of US troop buildups in various areas in Latin America,

AND

the recent 5.5 ton cocaine bust in Mexico on a mysterious American plane thought to originate in Colombia, which then landed in Venezuela, then on to Mexico on its way the the US...

http://www.madcowprod.com/04182006.html
http://www.madcowprod.com/05022006.html
http://www.madcowprod.com/05112006.html
http://www.madcowprod.com/



1. It seems that Venezuela is being set up for US aggression.

2. The US war games just off Venezuela's coast are intimidation.

3. This is gun and drug running and money laundering all over again ala IranContra, to finance US shenanigans in Latin America.

4. The very same cast of characters are involved. Bushes. Rumsfeld. Cheney. Negroponte. Goss. Reagan-GHWB strongmen. North. Etc.

5. Remember the $20+ Million that was *parked* off the books at Special Ops Command in Tampa? The missing money that was hidden outside the knowledge of Congress?

Senator Bill Nelson is hot on this. Wonder where all this money went.... weapons.... paying off drug pilots..... bribing Latin American officials to oppose duly elected leaders.... to finance stolen elections in the US... the list is endless.

Of course, the Pentagon found *no wrongdoing.* This ain't over.



Military investigators provide a complete exoneration after allegations that millions of dollars were illegally hidden

May 3, 2006

TAMPA - A military investigation has cleared Special Operations Command of charges that it hid $20-million from Congress at the direction of the Pentagon.

In a report released Tuesday night, the Pentagon inspector general exonerated SOCom, located at MacDill Air Force Base, saying its budgeting process followed the law.

"As a result," the report said, "our audit did not identify any improprieties, fraud, or lying, or conspiracy to commit fraud or lying to the United States Government during the FY 2003 programming and budgeting process."

The report by the audit division of the inspector general marked the first time in more than two years that investigators have made their findings public.

A separate criminal investigation was completed last September, but the U.S. attorney in Tampa decided not to file charges. The Pentagon has refused to release that report.

A second case, involving $25-million in hidden funds at SOCom, was not mentioned in the report released Tuesday.

The investigation was prompted by an anonymous tip to the inspector general.

snip

Looks like we are entering full-blown tyrannical dictatorship. We have become what we hated.

[DemoTex]

2. A political animal, that Maj. Gen. Spears (from his bio); my read on it.

August 2001 - July 2003, Commander, 89th Airlift Wing, Andrews AFB, Md. The 89th AW operates Air Force One and Air Force Two, along with a fleet of jets for high-level government VIP travel. It appears that Maj. Gen. Spears was the first commander of the 89th assigned after Bu$h took office. Chances are Spears got the 89th AW job through politics, got plenty of face time with the big boys and girls (Bu$h, Cheney, Rummy, Condi), and has scored a bigger plum for his unswerving devotion to their asses .. er, I mean duty.

http://www.af.mil/bios/bio.asp?bioID=7214



http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/usaf/89aw.htm

[SharonAnn]

4. And what are his "Christian" bona fides?

[DemoTex]

5. That is the $64K question. Not much public info on that.

I've got some feelers out, but I'm not likely to hear back from my contacts still on active duty on THAT issue. Three things stand out, however: 1. USAF Academy; 2. 89th Air Wing Commander for Bu$h, and; 3. General Officer < 50 years old. Also, other than a Kosovo campaign ribbon, it doesn't look like the general has much combat experience.
Personally, I read a lot more into this than I could squarely post on DU. But when I get hard info to validate my gut feeling on this guy, I'll post it.