Bush to visit Colombia

This kind of sloppy reporting drives me crazy. The AP reports that Bush will be in Colombia on Monday to assess the damage, er I mean "success" of the 3.3 billion US tax dollars we have poured into the country under Plan Colombia. The AP hacks gets this much right. Plan Colombia, has failed to keep cocaine off U.S. streets. However he (she?) goes on to say the country has become more stable with our 'help'.

The in-fighting among the paramilitary and military forces continues unabated, there's daily murders and kidnappings with thousands of indigenous displaced, homes and health ruined by relentless herbicide bombing and land rendered unfit for anything but the new supercoca plant. This is more stable? This remark is even more choice.

In the two years since [Uribe] came to power, crime rates have dropped, kidnappings are down and government forces have driven the rebels deeper into the jungle, drawing widespread support among Colombians and lavish praise from the White House.

The lavish praise is true but I guess Housego missed the 60,000 Colombians who marched for days in protest of the current policies. You want the real story about what's happening on the ground in Bogota and beyond, check out Colombia Week instead.