Americas First: Shared Visions and Shared Threats

Abstract

Pursuit of U.S. interests in Latin America and the Caribbean has frequently resulted in suboptimal outcomes for both parties. Prosecution of the long Cold War and Drug War in the region, when the U.S. too hastily or austerely transitioned from a military focus back to diplomatic, informational or economic ones, has empowered leaders who serve the interests of neither country well. Assuming that the War on Terror will be another long war, that illicit drug traffic from Latin America and the Caribbean will continue, and that increasingly violent criminal activity is expanding, the U.S. has a new opportunity and a compelling need to avoid the usual poor outcomes. The key to future success resides in the ability of both sides to identify and focus on shared national interests. The increasingly comprehensive current bilateral U.S.-Colombia and U.S.-Mexico relationships offer an example of a promising way ahead.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 25, 2008
Accession Number
ADA498133

Entities

People

  • Shawn D. Fritz

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter WMD
  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Climate Change
  • Cold War
  • Colombia
  • Department Of State
  • Foreign Aid
  • Foreign Relations
  • Geography
  • Governments
  • International Relations
  • Latin America
  • National Politics
  • National Security
  • South America
  • Street Drugs
  • Treaties
  • United States
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • International Relations, focusing on Korea-Africa and North Korea-South Korea relations, and Nigeria-Latin American Relations.
  • Strategic Security Studies
  • Systems Analysis and Design