Word: farce
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...COLOMBIA Halt to Peace Talks President Andrés Pastrana suspended peace talks with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), accusing the rebels of stonewalling negotiations. The group are demanding that the government lift its security cordon around the demilitarized zone ceded to the 16,000-strong guerrilla army in 1999 as a peace incentive. Calling the security measures "non-negotiable," Pastrana allowed time for last-ditch U.N. talks, after which he said he would order the farc to evacuate towns in the enclave...
...Pastrana has made clear that he sees the right-wing paramilitaries as no more legitimate than the FARC, but although we don't know right now whether any officers maintain these links, it's certainly true that in the past there was a relationship between some military officers and paramilitaries. The State Department's move also make it more difficult for the paramilitaries to form a political party to challenge Pastrana...
...What is the FARC's game plan...
...former guerrilla leader recently told me that FARC still imagines taking over all of Colombia. And while that's not an official view, there's nothing to suggest the contrary. Some Colombian generals have argued publicly is that there can't be more progress on the negotiation front until FARC has been hit harder militarily and feel pressure to negotiate. Pastrana probably wouldn't disagree. There's no reason right now for the guerrillas to do anything differently. Why would they settle for less negotiating than they'd get by fighting...
...That concern usually surrounds U.S. troops in the field, and right now there aren't any; they're only doing training. The quagmire right now is more Colombian than American. Of course there's always a danger of U.S. personnel being targeted by FARC in order to send a message. But the argument on the other side is that if the U.S. keeps trying to make this distinction between anti-drug warfare and counterinsurgency, the conflict will drag on longer than if the U.S. comes out firmly saying the war should be won, and offers help. But whether...