Making the Case

The L.A. Times sits down with the Colombian Minister of Defense, Juan Manuel Santos, to talk about the future of Plan Colombia under an Obama administration facing a trillion dollar budget deficit.

But really, I doubt Plan Colombia is going anywhere. What's a few hundred mil awash in a trillion dollar ocean? Cynical interpretation: its a small price to pay for one of the only Latin American-related talking points the Mesopotamian-minded U.S. foreign-policy universe can churn out these days. I think a lot of U.S. pols are less worried about the dubious merits of the program than having something to talk about other than Cuba or Hugo Chavez.

Here's hoping the Obama administration will become more engaged and shake things up a bit. We'll see.