Uribe's Colombia: A Successful Model Against Internal Conflict?

The US War on Terror has left many great negative legacies in its wake. With troops mired in Iraq and Afghanistan and no clear idea of what constitutes victory in those conflicts, the results of the War on Terror has places US troops in constant danger, has alienated its once friendly supporting nations, and has taken time and energy away from the War on Drugs and Latin American as a whole.

Success has come in one form, but due to the skill of Colombia's leadership as opposed to that of Bush I's War on Drugs or Bush II's War on Terror. During the last 8 years of the War on Terror, Uribe's Colombia has had a great deal of progress. In contrast to the US in Iraq and in Afghanistan, accusations against Venezuela of drug running, and Mexican drug wars slowing killing off anyone who opposes it at will, Colombia has captured many FARC leaders including the infamous "Karina" this past week, one of FARC's top leaders and most violent assassins.

As a follow up to the capture of “Karina”,  the top leader of the FARC, Manuel Marulanda was confirmed as dead this past week. While Uribe claims his death as a result of an air strike, and the FARC as due to a heat condition, the timing of the FARC leader's death in conjunction with so many of its top leaders deserting, dying or simply losing the support of many FARC rebel soldiers has done nothing more but to push the FARC closer to becoming the final historic note in the longest rebel insurgency in Latin America's history. The death of so many FARC leader in 2008 could do nothing more but to push Uribe into becoming Colombia's Winston Churchill in the fight against internal terror in the jungles of the Andean nation.

Despite Uribe's success and over 70% support in Colombia, since 9/11 the US has alienated alot of the countries that traditionally supported it on the world stage. When a country like Colombia that has had more terrorism and economic hardships than any other US ally succeeds in the War on Terror and is rewarded with criticism when forming a trade agreement, it further moves the US away from a region that requires substantial and equitable support. It could be based on the lack of understanding in the US on Colombia, or perhaps a separation between trade, anti-drug enforcement and security policy, but it poorly reflects on the US with many of their neighbours worldwide. Trade is usually the issue where this takes place as seen with Clinton's attacks on NAFTA and its North American neighbours, but in this case the prime achievement of the War on Terror or whatever people wish to call it is Colombia's success against the FARC. With some of the highest rates of drug trafficking, internal refugees and poverty in the world, any progress by Uribe or leaders of Colombia must be included when creating a foreign policy towards Latin America.