Can South America Be A 'Zone Of Peace'?

SANTA CRUZ HANDSHAKE - U.S. Air Force Gen. Douglas Fraser, commander of U.S. Southern Command, greets U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates as he arrives in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, Nov. 21, 2010. Gates and Fraser are in Bolivia to attend a conference of Western Hemisphere defense ministers. DOD photo by U.S. Air Force by U.S. Master Sgt. Jerry Morrison

US Wants South America To Be 'Zone Of Peace': Gates -- Space War/AFP

The United States wants South America to remain free of conflict and will support initiatives that promote transparency in arms deals in the region, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Saturday.

"Obviously we want South America to remain a zone of peace," Gates told a news conference here after meeting his Chilean counterpart Jaime Ravinet as part of a four-day trip to the continent to bolster military cooperation.

"The percentage of spending on the military in South America is among the lowest in the world," Gates noted.

Read more ....

My Comment: South America has been a relatively zone of peace .... minus the long history of military coup d'etats, Communist guerrilla wars, civil wars, drug wars, and border skirmishes and battles. Will this change .... not in my lifetime .... but Secretary Gate's remarks should be taken as a goal, and hope that it will be shared by the leaders of the Americas.

South America's Most Troubled Border

From Time Magazine:

Wisps of evaporating water rise from the dark green Amazon rainforest as an Ecuadorian military helicopter swerves along the San Miguel River. Each day, slim boats with outboard motors ferry dozens of people between the hamlets of Puerto Nuevo, Ecuador, and Teteye, Colombia, across the brown and winding border waterway. Most are doing business or visiting relatives. But this year boatmen are increasingly carrying Ecuadorian mourners to retrieve the bodies of loved ones. Most, they say, were killed by Colombian troops because they were suspected of aiding the Marxist guerrillas known as the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces, or FARC. One was Antonio Jimenez, shot a month ago. Insists one Puerto Nuevo woman who knew him well, "He just went over to buy banana seedlings."

Read more ....

My Comment: Nationalism, oil and resource wealth, failing economies,cocaine and other narcotics ..... yup .... a perfect mix for conflict.