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The Americas Need Consensus Building and Security

The document is a column by Jerry Brewer discussing security issues in the Americas. It notes that political instability in Latin America requires conceptual clarity and analysis of its causes. As elections conclude, leaders must work to end destabilizing internal and external pressures. A rejection of Venezuela's bid for a UN Security Council seat due to Hugo Chavez's antics showed refreshing unity. Restoring security in the Americas will require united governance and a partnership with the US to reject leftist agendas while offering solidarity.
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
69 views3 pages

The Americas Need Consensus Building and Security

The document is a column by Jerry Brewer discussing security issues in the Americas. It notes that political instability in Latin America requires conceptual clarity and analysis of its causes. As elections conclude, leaders must work to end destabilizing internal and external pressures. A rejection of Venezuela's bid for a UN Security Council seat due to Hugo Chavez's antics showed refreshing unity. Restoring security in the Americas will require united governance and a partnership with the US to reject leftist agendas while offering solidarity.
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© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Home | Columns | Media Watch | Reports | Links | About Us | Contact

MEXIDATA . INFO
Column 112006 Brewer

Monday, November 20, 2006

The Americas Need Consensus Building and


Security

By Jerry Brewer

The manifestations, causes and effects of that political


instability which exists in the Americas require diligent
and logical conceptual clarity. Deductive analysis on
substantive issues involving the undermining of
psychosocial stability and political governance in the
Western Hemisphere must become a priority of
democratic nations.

As this year’s many elections in the Americas conclude,


free nations look to the immediate future for answers.
Will the newly elected leaders work diligently to end
destabilizing pressures by not only internal but external
forces of influence?

A refreshing unified mindset recently included the


rejection of a non-permanent United Nations’ Security
Council seat to Venezuela. This according to many due
to President Hugo Chavez’s political antics and insults to
U.S. leadership during the UN’s General Assembly in
New York, a setting that demands dignity and respect
for protocol.

Chavez’s support for left-leaning political candidates


throughout Latin America has been no secret. The
majority, with the exception of Bolivian President Evo
Morales, have done poorly and been rejected by voters.
At the UN, Chavez was quick to enlist Morales to move
Bolivia forward as an alternative for the Security
Council seat unattained by Venezuela or Guatemala,
however it ultimately went to Panama.

So just what is needed to restore faith in nations that


are genuinely concerned about security, outside
interference, terrorism, and other forms of violence?

The fact is that mankind today can destroy itself, or we


can be destroyed by decisions of a small number of
governments. Never has there been as dramatic a
mismatch between the potential of destruction and the
frailty of men, including those who command the
potential.

The ability of governments to cope is clearly a test of


governance versus the maladies of society. In the U.S.,
do we as a nation distinguish between our own well-
being and that collectively of our neighbors and allies in
the Americas? Our moral philosophy should dictate the
answer as adherence to the rule of law and basic
human rights. The U.S. must stand strong with Latin
American nations, rejecting leftist agendas while
offering a sincere and firm hand of solidarity.

The United States continues its due diligence in Iraq,


training tens of thousands of military and police. This
action a precursor to allow the fledgling democracy to
take root, and to permit Iraqi forces to take the lead
and maintain independence in establishing rule for the
elected government. The difficult task in assisting this
new sovereign government continues to require
dynamic, fluid and shifting strategies and tactics to
defeat an unconventional enemy.

In the United States, a major political focus has


diverted attention to the southern border with Mexico.
President George W. Bush reluctantly signed a bill for
700 miles of fencing, while reiterating the need for
strategies addressing guest worker programs. Too,
there is the issue of amnesty for multitudes of illegal
immigrants that could result in high costs in time and
money.

The rhetoric diverting attention to the U.S. border from


more serious issues of world danger, from terrorism
and world nuclear threat to destabilization concerns in
Latin America, is indeed thought provoking. Nuclear
threats also obviously come in the form of components,
rather than just completed nuclear instruments. And a
5,500 mile border with Canada, guarded by
approximately 400 people, is basically being ignored.

Energy issues play a momentous role in world turmoil


today. A loss of the world’s second largest oil supply in
Iraq to terrorist regimes would affect the entire world.
The free world must be free from the possibility of
rogue governments exporting oil with blackmail
attachments.

China’s oil needs result in arms sales to the government


in Sudan. This relationship supplies 70 percent of
communist China’s oil. Iran and North Korea continue
their nuclear pursuits. Venezuela continues to arm
itself with massive purchases of weapons using windfall
oil income, while attempting to establish a military
presence with left-leaning neighbors.

A recent internal uprising in Venezuela by


approximately 500 Chavez loyalists, against “countries
humiliating Venezuelan employees” on issues of social
benefits, and the recent violence in Oaxaca, Mexico
surrounding a teacher’s strike, sound warnings to
Western Hemisphere nations. And each flare-up
demands intense scrutiny on its own merits.

Restoring security throughout the Americas, and faith in


continued democracy, will require a united mindset by
governing bodies and their populace as requisite
agendas for freedom. The United States merely needs
to look south to see the need and importance of a
united front, one that must be done in partnership with
our friendly neighbors.

——————————
Jerry Brewer, the Vice President of Criminal Justice
International Associates, a global risk mitigation firm
headquartered in Miami, Florida, is a guest columnist with
MexiData.info. He can be reached via e-mail at
[email protected]. [email protected]

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