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Killing Peace: Colombia's Conflict and the Failure of U.S. Intervention [Paperback]

Garry Leech (Author)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)


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Book Description

097203840X 978-0972038409 April 2002
Over the past half-century, Colombia has been plagued by violence—its people caught in the middle of a civil conflict raging between the army, leftist guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries, narco-traffickers, and U.S. anti-drug warriors. Killing Peace: Colombia’s Conflict and the Failure of U.S. Intervention provides a timely and much-needed overview of the war that is ravaging Colombia including its root causes in the country’s gross social and economic inequalities.

Though rarely in the headlines, Colombia is not only by far the largest recipient of U.S. military aid in the Western Hemisphere, it is also the worst human rights catastrophe. The rampaging process of economic globalization is further brutalizing the war-weary Colombian people.

Drawing from on-the-ground reporting as well as historical sources, Killing Peace addresses all aspects of the Colombian conflict, particularly the dangerous and expanding involvement of the United States as part of its drug war—and now the "war on terrorism."



Editorial Reviews

Review

"...more books like this are necessary to expose what the US war aims truly are." -- Left Turn Magazine, Oct/Nov 2002

"Killing Peace is an important guide....a simple, easy-to-follow, but very compelling piece of work." -- Adam Isacson, Center for International Policy

"Killing Peace... is an excellent short overview of the past and the present of the Colombian Civil War." -- NACLA Report on the Americas, July/August 2002

"Leech's fine study.... is a lucid and informed introduction to one of the most painful tragedies of the current era." -- Noam Chomsky, author and MIT professor

"Leech's fine study....is a lucid and informed introduction to one of the most painful tragedies of the current era." -- Noam Chomsky, author and MIT professor

"This crisply written book is required reading for anyone interested in understanding the escalating crisis in Colombia." -- Thomas C. Wright, author of Latin America in the Era of the Cuban Revolution

About the Author

Garry M. Leech has worked and traveled extensively in Latin America during the past 22 years. He currently resides in New York City where he edits the online journal Colombia Report. His writings have appeared in numerous publications including NACLA Report on the Americas, In These Times, Salon, and Mother Jones online.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 116 pages
  • Publisher: Information Network of the Americas (April 2002)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 097203840X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0972038409
  • Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 4.9 x 0.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,473,577 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars short, clear intro to an important and confusing conflict, June 6, 2002
By 
This review is from: Killing Peace: Colombia's Conflict and the Failure of U.S. Intervention (Paperback)
Leech has done the confused observer of Colombia's tragedy a great service with this short, pocket-sized introduction to the reality behind the sporadic news reports on Latin America's most violent, dysfunctional country. The book provides a clear and concise history of modern Colombia with particular emphasis on the causes of the armed conflict that has raged there for decades. Leech examines Colombia's civil war and how it differs from yet is intertwined with the drug war, while avoiding the common pitfall of completely muddling the two topics.

The book also traces the gradual U.S. entry into the fray of the Colombia's conflict, from early forays into combatting marijuana production to the current strategy that closely resembles Reagan-era strategies in El Salvador, albeit with the additional complication of Colombia being a leading cocaine and heroin supplier. Leech's answer to the uncomfortable question, "Is the drug war working?" is an emphatic "No." He explains how the U.S. drug war is failing on all of its own terms, while at the same time detailing the disastrous human toll of increased U.S. aid to the undisciplined and extremely compromised Colombian military. The role of the various guerrilla and paramilitary groups is explained, and there are also interesting new insights into the relations between the Colombian army and the rightist paramilitaries.

This book should be of particular use to those who seek to quickly learn more about the country and conflict that are fast becoming one of the primary U.S. foreign policy concerns. Its brevity and breadth should prove especially appropriate for high school and college classes focusing on current events, foreign policy, Latin American affairs, and history. A good, short read on a truly important topic.

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Now I understand, May 31, 2002
By 
C. Biddle (Northeast, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Killing Peace: Colombia's Conflict and the Failure of U.S. Intervention (Paperback)
This book satisfied my need for a clarification of the conflicts in Colombia. Leech does an amazing job of simplifying this political quagmire.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Grassroots View of the Violence in Colombia, June 7, 2002
By 
Bert Ruiz "Author" (Pleasantville, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Killing Peace: Colombia's Conflict and the Failure of U.S. Intervention (Paperback)
"Killing Peace" is an outstanding book. Garry Leech provides a front row seat to the surreal violence in Colombia. Moreover, he explains why a just and enduring peace is so difficult to attain. The author is a superb journalist who documents how the flames of peace have been doused and the drums of war have been amplified. Recommended.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
The first casualty of our war on drugs has been historical perspective. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
fumigation campaign, aerial fumigation, illicit crops, paramilitary death squads, coca cultivation, interview with author
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, Plan Colombia, President Pastrana, National Front, State Department, Rojas Pinilla, Carlos Castaño, Latin American, Cold War, Patriotic Union, World Bank, Caño Limón-Coveñas, National Convention, Fusarium Oxysporum, Human Rights Watch, President Clinton, President Ernesto Samper, San Vicente del Caguán
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