DRUG TRAFFIC — On Feb. 5, Director of National Intelligence J. Michael McConnell told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence that “Venezuela has been a major departure point” for Colombian cocaine since 2005, and Venezuela’s “importance as a transshipment center continues to grow.” On March 1, the State Department is expected to address the same issue in its annual International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, one of those report cards about other people’s faults that State grinds out every year — this one, of course, about the anti-drug war worldwide. Three years ago, the Venezuelan government halted regular cooperation with the [...]
KATMANDU, Nepal — This week, ponies and porters are making their way to Nepal’s most remote regions with boxes of election materials taken from trucks and helicopters in district headquarters. The thousands of boxes contain voter education posters, election rules and the indelible ink that will hopefully mark the fingers of 17.6 million voters on April 10. It’s a huge logistical challenge but, after two false starts, Election Commission spokesman Laxman Bhattarai is confident. “It is easier than previously because many things we have prepared for the last election but it didn’t happen.” said Laxman with a chuckle. While the [...]
With Pakistan’s much-anticipated Feb. 18 elections fast approaching against the backdrop of mounting jihadist activity in the country’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), questions about the stability of the region and the strategic implications of the activity there for U.S. interests seem to be growing more urgent by the day. While Pakistan has been considered a “key ally” in the war on terror for many years now, receiving at least $10 billion since 9/11 for its support in hunting down top al-Qaida operatives, this partnership has become dramatically more complex of late, and American decision makers are now facing difficult [...]
