Latino Kosovo

0 Comments | Insight on the News, July 5, 1999 | by Kelly Patricia O'Meara, | Jennifer G. Hickey, | James P. Lucier

If you loved Kosovo, you'll love Kosovo II, only this time it may be in Latin America. News alert! has learned that the United States, at a recent meeting of the Organization of American States, or OAS, has proposed creating a multinational force to guarantee the security of the Western Hemisphere, according to security analysts at the Austin, Texas, consulting firm of Stratfor.com. The muscle behind the OAS multinational force plainly would have to be the United States, just as with the NATO force.

However, the proposal was shot down by OAS members who were worded about matters such as who would determine whether a problem was serious enough to intervene, what form intervention might take and its size and scope. Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela were among those nations opposing the concept.

The negative reaction did not deter the Clinton team. The U.S. representative to the OAS, Victor Marrero, said, "This topic is not dead."

Meanwhile, in what could be a step toward a multilateral force, the United States wants to provide aircraft and intelligence to the border forces of Colombia's neighbors to repel incursions by narcotrafficking guerrilla groups such as FARC and ELN.