The Foreign Service Journal, September 2010

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 0 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 11 York Times ( www.nytimes.com ) and BBC News ( news.bbc.co.uk) call Santos the “political heir” of outgoing president Álvaro Uribe and note that “Colombians have voted overwhelm- ingly for continuity.” Santos faces many domestic chal- lenges and must navigate deteriorating relationships with neighboring coun- tries, including Venezuela (whose pres- ident, Hugo Chávez, is an outspoken critic) and Ecuador (where a warrant for Santos’ arrest was recently issued due to deaths resulting from a 2008 at- tack on a Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia camp in Ecuador). No matter how much popular support Santos garners, he “has four tough years ahead of him.” It seems, however, that Santos will have a staunch ally in Washington. In early May, the Obama administration unveiled its 2010 National Drug Con- trol Strategy ( www.whitehousedrug policy.gov ), which includes continued aid to help Bogota pursue the war on drugs. An April report from the Congres- sional Research Service, “Colombia: Issues for Congress” ( http://opencrs. com/document/RL32250/ ), observes that overall U.S. assistance to Bogota will decrease by around 9 percent next year as program management and funding are gradually turned over to Colombia. Nevertheless, the U.S. FY 2011 budget still includes $465 million for Plan Colombia. Critics point to persistent corrup- tion and human rights abuses —prob- lems that must be addressed as U.S. aid to the country continues — as well as the questionable track record of Plan Colombia in its first decade. But for now, Shifter sees “every reason to expect that Santos will continue to make the case that Colombia needs continued support to consolidate gains and try to prevent any backsliding on the security front.” With sustained funds and an improved approach, the Santos administration may be able not only to prevent backsliding, but to take steps forward. More detailed information about Plan Colombia can be found on the Center for International Policy’s Web site ( www.ciponline.org/colombia/ plancolombia.htm ). For general news about all things Colombian, ex- plore Colombia Reports , an online publication geared to a foreign, Eng- lish-speaking audience ( www.colom biareports.com ) . Finally, a trove of useful background information is avail- able on the State Department’s Web site ( www.state.gov/ ) . — Laura Caton, Editorial Intern E-Passport Production Leaves GPO Tongue-Thaied Security concerns about the out- sourcing of passport production over- seas is the focus of a recent joint investigation by ABC News and the Center for Public Integrity ( http://abc news.go.com/ ) . It turns out that many of the chips embedded in the e-Passports are pro- duced in a factory in Ayutthaya, Thai- land, an area that has been rocked by violent attacks for years and suffers from widespread corruption. The chips are then shipped to Germany, with final assembly completed in the United States. The Center for Public Integrity cites State Department documents it says prove that U.S. officials have “downplayed the risks” of threats to e- Passports, such as the possibility that sensitive information could be inter- cepted by “skimming” signals sent from the e-Passports’ chips. Robert C Y B E R N O T E S