[10:18 AM] Two contrasting headlines appeared in the New York Times concerning the election of Alvaro Uribe to succeed Andres Pastrana as president of Colombia. On Monday, the day after the election, an article titled "Hard-Liner Elected in Colombia With a Mandate to Crush Rebels." Today the same author reports "Colombian President-Elect Softens Tone on Rebels." President-elect Uribe (the hard-liner to the dovish Pastrana) is already opening the door for UN sponsored peace negotiations. Latin American analysts interviewed for the article note that Uribe might be trying to soften his belligerent tone to assuage U.S. and European concerns. I wonder if now that he is set to take the reins, he realizes what a daunting task defeating a guerrilla army with over 15,000 troops will actually be.
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posted 11:48 AM
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