Topic “South America”
Hugo mandara flores?
May 25, 2008 | Posted by Kip - 9:57am | 6 Comments
According to the Colombian government as reported by Reuters:
Indeed, Colombia gives us a view as to the possible duration of a narcotic-funded, rural-based insurgency. Remind you of anywhere else that we are fighting?
The founder and chief commander of Colombia's FARC rebel force, Manuel Marulanda, has died after more than 40 years fighting the state from jungle and mountain camps, the government said on Saturday. If confirmed, the death of Manuel Marulanda, who organized the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia guerrillas in the 1960s, would be the heaviest blow yet to Latin America's oldest insurgency, already weakened by a military setbacks.
Indeed, Colombia gives us a view as to the possible duration of a narcotic-funded, rural-based insurgency. Remind you of anywhere else that we are fighting?
A World at War?
March 3, 2008 | Posted by Kip - 11:03pm | 1 Comment
Kip finds the recent developments in South America to be truly troubling and a reminder of the global nature of fissures and threats that came to the fore on September 11, 2001. In a world of connected trade, information, and interests, the possibility of a massive destabilization of a continent should be far more troubling than the matter-of-fact reporting which it has inspired.
This much is agreed on: Two days ago, Colombia killed Raul Reyes, a FARC leader and 16 of his rebel compatriots in Ecuadorian territory and then removed several of the bodies back to Colombia. In response, both Ecuador and Venezuela have mobilized several thousand troops to the border while Venezuela has limited trade between the countries. Colombia claims it has not similarly mobilized troops but has also ratcheted up the rhetoric by publicizing intelligence it claims to have gathered from Reyes which it says connects Hugo Chavez directly to the FARC.
Chavez has responded to all this by calling Colombia the "Israel of Latin America." This is, in- turn, a reminder of Chavez's efforts to woo his Persian mistress. Chavez's threats to send Sukhois should Colombia go after rebels in Venezuelan territory are a reminder of the increasing assertiveness of Russia as its common ground with the west has eroded.
Kip hopefully predicts that cooler heads will prevail as the Global South (let's not forget Kenya) dances on a pin. That said, he envisions that the globalization of small wars and terrorism could, in time, lead to larger and more deadly conflicts through increasing polarization of the globe, especially as instability perversely fills the coffers of Iran, Venezuela, and Russia by driving up the price of oil to unprecedented heights.
This much is agreed on: Two days ago, Colombia killed Raul Reyes, a FARC leader and 16 of his rebel compatriots in Ecuadorian territory and then removed several of the bodies back to Colombia. In response, both Ecuador and Venezuela have mobilized several thousand troops to the border while Venezuela has limited trade between the countries. Colombia claims it has not similarly mobilized troops but has also ratcheted up the rhetoric by publicizing intelligence it claims to have gathered from Reyes which it says connects Hugo Chavez directly to the FARC.
Chavez has responded to all this by calling Colombia the "Israel of Latin America." This is, in- turn, a reminder of Chavez's efforts to woo his Persian mistress. Chavez's threats to send Sukhois should Colombia go after rebels in Venezuelan territory are a reminder of the increasing assertiveness of Russia as its common ground with the west has eroded.
Kip hopefully predicts that cooler heads will prevail as the Global South (let's not forget Kenya) dances on a pin. That said, he envisions that the globalization of small wars and terrorism could, in time, lead to larger and more deadly conflicts through increasing polarization of the globe, especially as instability perversely fills the coffers of Iran, Venezuela, and Russia by driving up the price of oil to unprecedented heights.
