Uncategorized Archives - Foreign Policy In Focus

Words and Deeds in Trinidad

by Laura Carlsen, John Feffer | Apr 22, 2009

The stage was set for a showdown. Hugo Chávez and Barack Obama exchanged another round of insults before getting on their planes to head to Trinidad and Tobago. Many countries came prepared for an all-court press to admit Cuba to the Organization of American States (OAS) and demand lifting the U.S. embargo against the island. Five nations that form part of ALBA, the Bolivarian Alternative for Latin America, vowed not to sign the official declaration of a Cuba-less OAS.

Time to Deal with Haiti

by Brian Concannon, Paul Farmer | Apr 21, 2009

When President Barack Obama went to Trinidad for the Summit of Americas, he brought the promise of "change" to a Latin America policy that has brought suffering to our neighbors while reducing U.S. influence and moral standing in the hemisphere. Change would be especially welcome to Haitians, who have suffered their usual unfair share of political and economic instability from these policies. But Haitians are still waiting to see whether the promised change will extend beyond ending the illegal and destructive policies of the last eight years, and include a shift away from U.S. policies that have failed both our oldest neighbor and our highest ideals for over two centuries.

Great Neighbor Policy

by John Feffer | Apr 21, 2009

It’s a time of war and depression, and populist leaders have emerged in Latin America. The U.S. president declares a new era of friendship and equality. The Monroe Doctrine appears to be on its last legs. Take your pick: the 1930s or today?

Unlocking the Conflict in Western Sahara

by John Feffer, Jacob Mundy | Apr 21, 2009

At the end of April, the UN Security Council will have the opportunity to make the right choice or the safe choice when it renews the authorization for the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). The right choice would be to give the new UN envoy a mandate for peace. To do this, the Security Council would have to secure the commitment of both sides of the conflict, Morocco and the pro-independence Polisario Front, to power-sharing and self-determination. The safe choice, meanwhile, would be to continue under the weak mandate that contributed to the failure of the previous UN envoy.

North Korea’s Sunshine Policy

by John Feffer | Apr 20, 2009

North Korea’s recent rocket launch received few congratulations and many condemnations, including the recent UN censure. Although Pyongyang did not manage to put a satellite into orbit, it did succeed in getting the world’s attention. It has sustained this attention by kicking out nuclear inspectors, vowing to restart its plutonium processing program, and declaring an end to its participation in the six-party talks.

Haiku to the President

by Split This Rock, Melissa Tuckey | Apr 17, 2009

Dear President Obama, You ask for patience we ask you “how much longer?” Iraq is still burning. Rosalie Yelen

Balkan Myths

by John Feffer | Apr 14, 2009

The interviews with Ranko, Violeta, and Attila are part of a new project coordinated by Foreign Policy In Focus, Provisions Library, and independent curator Olivia Georgia that brings together artists, activists, and academics to explore questions of identity in the United States and the Balkans.

Time to Strengthen Ties with Peru

by James Polk, Emily Schwartz Greco | Apr 14, 2009

Relations between the United States and several Latin American nations have sunk to their lowest level in years. Last September, both Bolivia and Venezuela expelled U.S. ambassadors (Bolivia accused the United States of interfering with its energy policy and Venezuela saw a North American attempt to depose President Hugo Chávez.). Venezuela then recalled its ambassador to the United States, and President George W. Bush expelled Bolivia’s ambassador. In February, Ecuador expelled two U.S. diplomats on charges of interfering in internal affairs. Most recently, in March 2009, Bolivia threw out a U.S. diplomat believed to be helping the CIA sabotage its energy industry. In Guatemala, a country with close ties to the United States, discord emerged as declassified U.S. government documents showed that Washington knew that U.S.-supported Guatemalan officials were behind the disappearance of thousands of people during Guatemala’s 36-year civil war.

Advice for Obama from the Hemisphere

by Manuel Perez-Rocha | Apr 13, 2009

The Institute for Policy Studies invited Latin American and Caribbean civil society leaders to share their recommendations for transforming the U.S. government’s relationship with the hemisphere.

Iraq in Fragments

by Dahr Jamail, Erik Leaver | Apr 10, 2009

“[W]hat lengths men will go in order to carry out, to their extreme limit, the rites of a collective self-worship which fills them with a sense of righteousness and complacent satisfaction in the midst of the most shocking injustices and crimes.” -Love and Living, by Thomas Merton