Editor’s note: The United Nations has declared April 4 as International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action. BOGOTÁ, Colombia — As Colombia enters its fifth decade of civil war, landmines are causing what Colombia’s top military commander describes as the “greatest damage” to his nation’s armed forces, accounting for 50 percent of military casualties. In recent years, as Colombian troops have intensified their campaign against the country’s Marxist guerrillas, landmines have become the guerillas’ most effective and destructive weapon. Landmines, together with unexploded ordnance like hand grenades, mortars and bombs, claimed three victims a day last year [...]
On Feb. 23, senior officials from Canada, Mexico, and the United States met to discuss ways to counter cross-border security threats while enhancing continental commerce as part of the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP). U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay, and Mexican Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa also made further preparations for a third summit among their heads of government later this year. Since the SPP began in March 2005, its core implementation element has consisted of trilateral working groups. Those engaged in the “Security Dialogue” address such issues as common transnational threats, [...]
Muslims often complain that the West only looks their way when there is something negative to say about Islam and its people. This time, they have a point. A most extraordinary event took place earlier this month in St. Petersburg, Fla., and it received only scant attention outside the blogosphere. The Secular Islam Summit brought together some 200 delegates determined to speak their mind about the direction of the Muslim world and to redraw the battle lines of today’s overarching ideological conflict. Describing themselves as “secular persons of Muslim societies,” and explaining that they are “believers, doubters, and unbelievers,” they [...]
