U.S. AGREEMENT WITH COLOMBIA DAMAGES BARACK OBAMA'S STANDING AMONG LATIN LEADERS

There is a conference of heads of state of countries in the Americas beginning today in Quito, Ecuador. Unfortunately, Pres. Barack Obama will not be attending. He is meeting with Mexican president Felipe Calderone and Canadian PM Stephen Harper in Guadalajara, Mexico. It is a shame Obama thus won't be hearing the criticisms from most of the other Latin leaders in Quito about the ill-thought-out plan of the U.S. to station 800+ more American troops in bases in Colombia.

Colombian president Alvaro Uribe also won't be in attendance. He doesn't want to be castigated and/or disparaged by the other heads of state for allowing more U.S. troops to be stationed in a Latin country.

Many heads of state, like Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Rafael Correa of Ecuador and Evo Morales of Bolivia, believe that Colombia's welcoming of American soldiers will de-stabilize the area, and possibly lead to military skirmishes and even more serious events.

Who was the guy in the Obama administration who thought sending more Yanqui troops would be in the interest of the U.S.? And how and why did Obama even sign off on this bad idea? The whole agreement with Colombia and Uribe reeks of U.S. gunboat diplomacy and American desire for hegemony south of the border. The agreement never should have been considered, much less made.

I agree with those Latin heads of state who think that this agreement with Colombia will cause a lot of damage, not the least to the reputation of Barack Obama in the eyes and minds of almost all the Latin leaders.

OPEN BORDERS FOR ALL PEACEFUL IMMIGRANTS FROM MEXICO

Instead of sending more U.S. troops to the Mexican border, Barack Obama should concentrate on fixing the drug problem here in the U.S. I mean legalizing all street drugs and bringing them under the control of the state or federal government. The government could then tax all drug sales and keep track of all buyers and sellers in the market. Mexico could do the same.

But by sending troops to the border, we are making the same mistake as Felipe Calderon, president of the Republic of Mexico. The army has no business engaging in domestic police actions. The U.S. has laws against using its army in this way. Troops along the border raise questions of violating U.S. law.

I want an open border where people are free to come or go as they please. No one should be termed "illegal" for entering the U.S. without proper papers. We should welcome all immigrants who come here for peaceful and lawful purposes, such as to obtain jobs or to make a better life for their families. I call upon Barack Obama: tear down that wall built by Bush between Mexico and the U.S.!

U.S.: STOP FIGHTING IN AFGHANISTAN

Today the BBC reports that a roadside bomb has killed four U.S. soldiers in eastern Afghanistan.

Writes the BBC:

"A roadside bomb attack in eastern Afghanistan has killed four US soldiers, the Nato-led Isaf peacekeeping force has confirmed.

"Taleban insurgents reportedly claimed responsibility for the explosion which killed the servicemen in the province of Nangarhar.

"Reports suggest that the bomb went off as a convoy was passing.

"More than 60 foreign soldiers have been killed in the country this year, many of the losses claimed by the Taleban."

I have longed argued that the United States has no business sending its troops into any foreign country, especially a country like Afghanistan. No foreign invading and/or occupying force has ever conquered the Afghanis since the time of Alexander the Great. The desire to arrest Oasama bin Laden and Mullah Omar is understandable, but this operation should have been a small police action, not a military one carried out by an invading and occupying American army.

Just as it is a serious mistake for Mexican president Felipe Calderon to send the Mexican Army into towns like Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez to help conduct anti-narcotic raids, so it is a serious mistake for Barack Obama to commit 17,000 soldiers, sailors and marines to Afghanistan. This is sheer madness, having no explainable purpose and designed to end in more needless loss of life, such as we see today, not to mention the hatred and anti-Americanism such an occupation generates.