If FARC profits from the drug trade again, it may confront the government rather than work with it.
Free-Trade Deal May Prove Greater Obstacle to Colombian Peace Than FARC
read more
North America
Are Islamists Role Models to Christian Fundamentalists?
Despite what Christian fundamentalists wish, religion and politics are unlikely to become one in the United States.
Lip Service Is All the Bahraini Opposition Will Ever Get From Washington*
Despite Bahrain’s authoritarian rule, Washington still sells it military equipment.
Fear, Loathing and Electoral Love in Mexico
Mexico’s federal election campaign officially kicked off March 30, but the contest arguably began in earnest days earlier when Pope Benedict XVI visited the right-wing stronghold of Guanajuato state. In a story worthy of Mexican surrealism, the daily La Jornada chronicled how all the presidential candidates joined with hundreds of thousands of people in the town of Silao to welcome the leader of an institution that is officially prohibited from participating in politics.
Mexican President Calderon: Kingpin of the Kingpin Strategy
The next president should reject current President Felipe Calderón’s profligate use of the military, and should make protection of human rights a cornerstone of a policy to back the power of traffickers.
U.S. Sides With Israel’s Nukes Over Iran’s Lack Thereof
The United States sides with a state with an illegal nuclear weapons program over one without one.
Stateless and Fancy-Free
Conservatives and Tea Partiers don’t understand that the rich — including U.S. corporations — don’t see themselves as Americans.
Promoting Democracy in Iran Is Not Only Wishful Thinking, But Belligerent
Foreign Affairs contributor Patrick Clawson clings to the hoary old myth of democracy promotion as a means to regime change in Iran.
Epistle to the Ecotopians
As I survey my life, which is coming near its end, I want to set down a few thoughts that might be useful to those coming after. It will soon be time for me to give back to Gaia the nutrients that I have used during a long, busy, and happy life. I am not bitter or resentful at the approaching end; I have been one of the extraordinarily lucky ones. So it behooves me here to gather together some thoughts and attitudes that may prove useful in the dark times we are facing: a century or more of exceedingly difficult times.
Missile Defense: Ever the Fly in the Ointment of U.S.-Russia Relations
That NATO missile defense in Europe as protection from Iran, not Russia, is a tough sell.