JINSA Policy Director James Colbert, writing for the Heritage Foundation's Spanish-language blog "Libertad," examines how many negative trends throughout Latin America came as a result of the vacuum created by America's withdrawal from its traditional leading role in the Organization of American States (OAS). One alarming trend is the willingness of friendly countries like Honduras to consider voting for the Palestinian Unilateral Declaration of Independence.
Prof. Martin Sherman, the 2009-2010 Hebrew Union College/University of Southern California Schusterman Visiting Israeli Professor of Security Studies and International Policy, writing in the latest JINSA Global Briefing, analyzes the massive and enduring application of a double standard toward Israel with regard to alleged human rights abuses. Prof. Sherman compares Israeli actions in the war against Hamas with the 1999 NATO bombing campaign against Yugoslav forces.
JINSA Staff Member Jim Colbert Served as International Election Observer
Jim Colbert, JINSA's Communications Director, was a direct witness to the historic elections in Honduras that took place Nov. 29. Colbert served alongside international observers that came to Honduras from 31 other countries. Here is his story of those elections and how Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez's attempts to subvert Honduran democracy were thwarted.
The members of the ad hoc Washington Observers Group that included JINSA Communications Director Jim Colbert issued the following statement on the National Elections in Honduras, Sunday November 29, 2009.
JINSA members participated Tuesday July 21, 2009 in a conference call with Ambassador Roberto Flores of Honduras. Considered the "former ambassador" by the State Department (the United States does not recognize the current Honduran government), Amb. Flores discussed the antecedents to the June ouster of then-President Zelaya, including Zelaya's determination to hold a referendum declared illegal by the Honduran Supreme Court.
Will America maintain strong partnerships with South America or will “benign neglect” of our Latin neighbors come back to bite us?
While the U.S. Government has expended enormous political, economic and military assets on the Middle East and Asia, benign neglect of South and Central America and the Caribbean could find America losing her neighbors economically to China and India, and politically to nations such as Iran that have aligned with Cuba and Venezuela. A March 2008 JINSA visit to the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) located near Miami and Joint-Interagency Task Force South (JIATF-S) in Key West focused on the issues, challenges, successes and failures of U.S. foreign policy.
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