The New York Times is reporting that the Bush administration fears that if Daniel Ortega wins next year's presidential election in Nicaragua, the Central American nation might align itself with Venezuela and Cuba to undermine U.S. interests throughout Latin America.

Newsweek reports that the Pentagon is considering having U.S. Special Forces train death squads in Iraq, modeled on U.S. death squads in El Salvador.

What Newsweek fails to note is that:

1. This policy represents standard U.S. counterinsurgency doctrine, employed around the world since the 1960's.  
2. Two suspicious kidnappings in Iraq last year suggest that death squad activity may already exist in Iraq.
3. The "Salvador Option" is not an extreme option being considered by a few neo-cons at the Pentagon, rather it reflects a policy that could easily develop bipartisan support, and which John Kerry may have been hinting at during the presidential campaign.
4. The leak of the "Salvador Option" may be a conscious attempt to test the waters regarding public sentiment about Iraqi death squads and to pad the impact of later revelations about U.S. actions in Iraq.

U.S. authorities have remained strangely silent regarding the Colombian government's decision to delay or cancel the extradition of AUC Chief Salvatore Mancuso on cocaine trafficking and money laundering charges.

Texas companies with ties to the Bush administration are reaping profits in Putmayo...

 What did the Fascist regimes in Italy, Germany, and Spain have in common?   They consisted of a highly militarized state, backed by corporation and a wealthy elite, that rose to power through a false populism that exploited the public’s fear of foreigners and “moral degenerates.”   This precisely defines the formula that Karl Rove designed to consolidate the Bush administration’s power in the recent election.

This morning Counterpunch ran a commentary of mine on John Kerry's disturbing statements about Bolivia:  http://www.counterpunch.org/donahue08182004.html .  In it I quote extensively from Oscar Olivera's speech at the J-School.  Unfortunately, the bio I had attached to the original draft, which mentioned both Narco News and the J-School was cut short.

Reflecting on the victory in Venezuela, and the fact that the official U.S. response in the wake of the referendum seems limited to bitter grumbling, I can't help but wonder would this have been allowed to happen if the U.S. weren't bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan?  Does the Bush administration's obsessive focus on the Middle East serve to take some of the heat off Latin America, allowing events such as the Chavez victory in Venezuela and the toppling of Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada in Bolivia?  I'd be interested in hearing other people's thoughts on this . . . .