By Dialogo March 05, 2009 U.S. military-to-military engagement in Latin America will require a change in thinking and in the culture within the armed services, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen spoke with American Forces Press Service on his way during a trip that also has taken him to Brazil and Chile and will include visits to Colombia and Mexico. In Brazil and Chile, the chairman emphasized that the United States has to rid itself of the vestiges of the Cold War to be effective in dealing with Latin America. He said Americans have been accustomed to looking east and west rather than north and south. To change that thinking, he added, military planners first must admit that’s what they do. “I grew up in a polarized world that was basically East-West. That’s the Cold War,” Mullen said. “Here it is 20 years later, and we’re still breaking out of that.” The Cold War dominated U.S. military thinking for generations, the chairman added, and military planners still look to Europe and Asia before looking to Latin America. The need for the United States to focus on Latin America is obvious, Mullen said. South America is the United States’ largest trading partner. Brazil, alone, is the fifth-largest country and 10th-largest economy in the world. Latin America does have problems, the admiral said. The main threat to the region is narco-trafficking and the insidious problem of drug money. But challenges also exist with migration, ungoverned spaces, economic inequities and corruption. The U.S. government must engage with the leaders of Latin America across the spectrum, and military-to-military relationships can be the catalyst for much of this engagement, Mullen said. The chairman also said he wants to capitalize on the ties between the United States and the various countries of the region. “When you look at the percentage of Hispanics in the United States and the Hispanic continent of Latin America, there is a great natural affinity that draws our peoples’ together,” he explained. “I just think there are tremendous opportunities and really important imperatives for our future.” U.S. Southern Command is an important part of this engagement with Latin American and Caribbean nations. Mullen said the command — based in Miami — is doing well with limited resources to listen to and engage with leaders in the region. “There’s a whole range of aspects that go with engagement,” he said. “It’s economics, it’s education, it’s security, it’s climate [and] environment that are globally challenges. Doing this consistently is key to progress.” The global financial crisis presents more problems, Mullen said. The U.S. military will feel the effects of this crisis and must be careful with how programs are cut. “There are some relatively inexpensive investments on the ‘soft-power’ side that have huge leverage,” he said. “So engagement investments on the military side — exercises, exchanges, military education, staff trips, all the things we do — even in a time of financial crisis, we need to be thoughtful about cutting those.” The chairman said he views engagement as a long-term investment. Cutting those programs might mean a short-term financial gain, he said, but could end up costing more in the long run. “I think that’s where leaders must be really thoughtful about how we adjust to financial increased budget pressures,” he said. Engagement requires tangible “deliverables” – equipment, training, exercises and exchanges, Mullen said. He used U.S. military-to-military relations with Chile as an example. “There have been plenty of deliverables with Chile over the years,” he said. “The total has produced a really solid relationship. Chile’s military is much more interoperable with us than other partners.” The same process must happen with other nations in the region, he added. “One of the messages I took from meeting with my counterpart in Brazil is we must make sure we have a list like that and that we work it very hard,” the chairman said. “There has been great improvement in that in the last few years, and they are excited about that. There are great opportunities. We have to have a good pace and rhythm with Brazil, which is such an important part of South America and wants to be a good partner with the United States.” The bottom line in U.S. engagement with countries in the region is the security risks the area presents, Mullen said. “This really is a global risk,” he said, “and I think engagement and attention does an awful lot to mitigate and reduce that risk so we don’t get into a big crisis.” read more

By Dialogo June 07, 2010 Colombian presidential candidate Juan Manuel Santos has a commanding lead against two-time Bogota Mayor Antanas Mockus for this month’s second round election, according to a new poll published on Friday. Santos, a former defense minister, had 61.6 percent of the intended votes against Mockus with 29.8 percent, according to the Centro Nacional de Consultoria poll published in El Tiempo newspaper. Santos won a solid first round victory on May 30, making him the favorite to be elected as successor to President Alvaro Uribe on June 20 when Colombians vote in the run-off. Most polls before first round had shown Santos and Mockus, who ran on an anti-corruption platform, tied for the election. But Santos won 47 percent of the vote while Mockus received 22 percent. Polls may have under-represented rural areas where Santos was seen as the stronger candidate. Uribe, a staunch U.S. ally, steps down in August after two terms dominated by his war on leftist FARC guerrillas. Violence has eased and foreign investment increased five-fold since he first came to power in 2002. Many Colombians thank him for making their country safer, but jobs and healthcare are now more of a concern than rebel violence. Some voters are also weary of corruption and human rights scandals that marred his second term. Mockus, a former university professor known for his off-beat style, garnered support with his Green Party’s message of clean government. But analysts say his gaffes in debates and Santos’ political machinery helped give the Uribe ally the victory. Whoever wins the run-off is expected to continue with Uribe’s basic security and pro-business policies and investors see little impact on the country’s peso or its TES bonds, the sixth most traded fixed income instrument in emerging markets outside home country. The poll was carried out with 2,000 telephone interviews in 100 cities nationwide with a margin of error of 2.1 percentage points. read more

A fraternal greeting to all the organizers, I would like to know the results of each one of the swimming competitions my email address is oesanchez52@yahoo.es One of the most classic sports in the modern Olympic Games is also on the schedule of the 5th Military World Games. Competitions will be held in all events, with emphasis on the 50m freestyle and 100m freestyle, the noblest events. There are also relay competitions, in which each country has four swimmers who will dive into the pool. There are four styles in swimming: crawl (freestyle), breaststroke, butterfly, and backstroke. In Rio de Janeiro, they will all be included in the competition. There is also the medley category, in which the swimmer has to use all the styles, in the following order: backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle. The distances vary between fifty and eight hundred meters. By Dialogo July 15, 2011 read more

The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency has notified the U.S. Congress of a military sale to the Government of Ecuador corresponding to a contract for the modernization of two SH-2G helicopters, together with equipment, parts, training, and logistical support, for an estimated total of $60 million. The Ecuadorean Government sought the material for the refurbishment of the two SH-2G aircraft, declared excess defense articles and therefore eligible to be sold to other countries under current U.S. security policy and foreign policy. The sale operation will improve Ecuador’s capacity to confront current and future anti-ship threats. The helicopters have the capacity for anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, search-and-rescue, and logistical support missions for the Ecuadorean Navy. The SH-2Gs will put Ecuador’s capabilities into play when participating in multinational maritime operations with the U.S. Navy, intensifying the South American country’s control of its own territory and exclusive economic zone and reducing its dependence on the United States in emergency situations. By Dialogo October 06, 2011 I think it’s good to modernize this equipment since unfortunately our country and most of its leaders care little about new or modernized deterrence material, we could almost say there is no action with regard to this subject, even the delivery of resources to maintain the equipment. It doesn’t matter to them how valuable our compatriots are who risk their lives fulfilling their duty. read more