Recent Commentary

  • Mr. President: Don't Make Colombia Another Afghanistan

    The Progressive, Aug 20, 2009

    The Obama administration should reconsider its decision to escalate U.S. involvement in Colombia's long-running civil war. The White House already has its hands full with Iraq and Afghanistan; it does not need to be drawn deeper into another bloody conflict.

  • Obama Administration Needs to Maintain Tough Stance Against Honduran Coup

    The Progressive, Jul 09, 2009

    The Obama administration deserves praise for its response to the coup in Honduras. It sends a hopeful signal that Washington’s traditional support for such undemocratic power grabs has ended. But the White House still has a lot of housecleaning to do.

  • Obama Whitewashes U.S. Foreign Policy

    The Progressive, Jun 17, 2009

    In two major speeches in the last month, President Barack Obama has tried to whitewash the history of U.S. foreign policy. His assertions ring especially hollow in Latin America, where Washington propped up tyrannical leaders and bankrolled murderous armies.

  • Summit Shows that U.S.-Latin American Relations Need Giant Leap

    The Progressive, Apr 23, 2009

    President Obama’s recent meeting with Latin American heads of state marked a positive step, but he needs to make bigger ones to repair our relations. Distrust of Washington still runs deep in Latin America.

  • Summit: Behind the Smiles and Handshakes

    NACLA, Apr 20, 2009

    With all that happened at the Summit of the Americas, it was easy to miss a significant about-face by the Obama administration. No, it wasn't the administration's supposedly softer stance toward Cuba. Nor was it Venezuela's well-received offer (by harsh Chávez critic Hillary Clinton no less) to re-exchange ambassadors with Washington.

  • Obama Should Reboot Relations with Latin America

    The Progressive, Mar 21, 2009

    The election results in El Salvador show the time has come for the Obama administration to upgrade Washington's relations with Latin America. El Salvador now joins a group of nearly a dozen Latin American nations that have elected left-leaning leaders. The Bush administration's hostile reception to this regional political shift left U.S.-Latin America relations at their lowest point since the height of the Cold War. The Obama administration should work quickly to mend these frayed ties.