BOGOTÁ, Colombia — Email messages linking the Colombian Marxist guerilla insurgency (known by its Spanish acronym, FARC) to politicians, union activists and left-wing parties overseas have revealed a network of supporters spanning several continents, and have kept tensions high between Colombia and some of its neighbors. “The FARC have been less isolated than originally believed, and have wide-ranging political contacts throughout Latin America and elsewhere,” Michael Shifter, an analyst with Washington, D.C.-based Inter-American Dialogue, wrote by email. While Shifter called the relationships “isolated,” he said “the support network did give the FARC a sense that they were seen as legitimate […]

When the Syrian capital of Damascus was rocked by a car bomb on Sept. 27, the wheels started spinning wildly inside intelligence agencies, Middle Eastern tea houses, and conspiracy theorist circles alike. The explosion, which killed 17 people and injured 14, took place along the Damascus airport highway close to a Syrian intelligence installation. The question on everyone’s mind was: Who did this and why? The most striking aspect of the search for answers is just how many theories are potentially credible. Clearly, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been walking a high wire of strategic alliances, making friends and enemies […]