Friday, April 01, 2005

Colombia Journal Online

http://www.colombiajournal.org-- This is an interesting website with a stated mission "to promote political, social, and economic justice in Colombia by creating a greater awareness and understanding of U.S. foreign policy." I thought this mission was vague because to create greater awareness in Colombia, shouldn't the website be in Spanish rather than English? Perhaps I misinterpreted the goal of the website, but the photo gallery is worth looking at. There are photos FARC guerillas, going about their normal activities, including playing soccer, studying political economy, and raising funds through kidnapping and extortion. There are also photos of the AUC paramilitary with large weapons and captions, such as one about how they receive their funding from the drug trade and wealthy businessmen. There are a few photos of the U.S Army, including my favorite with a caption that reads, "A U.S. Army Special Forces soldier armed with a stick takes the offensive against a politically subversive Colombian cow." Other photos in the gallery show each step in the process of cocaine processing. The website describes "Plan Colombia's" aerial fumigation of coca crops and the damaging effects of the drug wars on the indigenous population. Besides great photos, the website also has news reports, a list of books, Colombian history, and other links. Check it out.

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