Ceding Sovereignty

With the new Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff announcing a plan to implement a counterinsurgency in Afghanistan  modeled on that of the plan used by the US military in Colombia, we thought it might bear looking at how well that has worked. To begin our examination of Plan Colombia, we note the recent violence by government troops against indigenous peoples protesting the militarization of their territories. Taking a closer look at the model touted by Admiral Mullen itself, we suggest reading Colombia Journal’s interview of Liliany Obando, imprisoned without trial for the last ten months for criticising the human rights abuses of the Colombian government.

As Ms. Obando herself observes, the 7,200 political prisoners there are a direct result of Colombia ceding its sovereignty to the US in return for arms and funds to fight a phony war on drugs.