Nicole Bacharan, on “Le blog USA 2008″ believes Obama will certainly advocate for a greater commitment from NATO in Afghanistan.

She adds about Obama's Europe visit (fr):

“On peut s’attendre à ce que les Européens (Angela Merkel, Nicolas Sarkozy, Gordon Brown…) reçoivent Obama avec chaleur. Mais aussi prudence. Il est normal de se rencontrer et d’apprendre à se connaître. Il serait évidemment mal venu d’avoir l’air de prendre parti dans la présidentielle américaine. En Allemagne, certains critiquent déjà le projet d’Obama (mais sera-t-il maintenu ?) de prononcer un discours devant la porte de Brandebourg”

One may expect that the Europeans (Angela Merkel, Nicolas Sarkozy, Gordon Brown…) will receive Obama warmly, with a bit of caution though. It is normal to meet in person and learn to know each other better. However, it would be bad protocol to look like one is taking side in the presidential elections. In Germany, some are already criticizing the Obama project (if actually carried through) to have a speech in front of the Brandenbourg Gate.

Anne Applebaum 's column on the reason for candidates to campaign abroad was entirely translated in French on the influential blog rue89.com. Applebaum argues that foreign observers, should all rejoice from this new turn of events in American politics:

“It matters how America is perceived abroad, and not just because it's nice to be popular. When America and American values are admired in other countries, American politicians have more influence on foreign affairs”.

The reactions to the article from French readers in the comment section are quite diverse. Pierre JC Allard from the blog Nouvelle Société agrees that image projected to the rest of the world matters to Americans (fr):

Les Américains souffrent du mépris et souvent de la haine globale que leur a value la présidence Bush Ils se meurent de voir Obama applaudi par des Européens

Americans suffer from the spite and global hate that stemmed from the Bush administration, they would love to see Obama welcomed by the Europeans.

Ira, another commenter on the article, begs to differ (fr):

cet article tente de nous faire croire que les Etats-unis profonds se préoccupent de ce que pense le reste du monde…vaste rigolade ! (je reste décent) Un autre futur président potentiel - McCain -, qui représente une partie de ce “bon peuple”, apporte un premier démenti : le lundi 14 juillet à Phoenix en Arizona, il affirme s'inquiéter des rapports tendus entre la Russie et la Tchécoslovaquie… pays qui n'existe plus depuis le 31 décembre 1992.

This article is trying to convince us that America's heartlands care about what the rest of the world thinks…what a joke ! ( and I am being polite). Another future potential president-McCain- who represents parts of those “good people” brings evidence to the contrary: on Monday, July 14th in Phoenix, Arizona, he states that he is worried about the tense relationship between Russia and Czechoslovakia…a country that does not exist anymore since Dec, 31st 1992

Finally, Yannick Mireur concludes in his blog “politique americaine” (fr):

“L'Amérique ne changera pas… La patriotisme à la fois naïvement démonstrateur, presque enfantin (les drapeaux aux fenêtres, les pin's obligatoires à la boutonnière, etc.), et militarisé, est devenu un trait culturel dont le prochain président aura du mal à se défaire, y compris Obama”

America will not change… the patriotism that is naively demonstrative, almost infantile ( flags on windows, flag pins..) and militarized, has become a cultural trait that the next president will have a hard time getting away from, Obama included.

.

Adam Isacson of Plan Colombia and Beyond sums up why Colombia would be an important stop for McCain.

Why, in the midst of a hotly contested campaign season, might McCain want to leave the country and go to Colombia?

The most likely answer is one word: Florida.

Florida is the biggest “swing state,” as the world saw clearly in 2000. And one of its chief “swing” constituencies are Latino voters.

Many of these Latino voters are people who left their home countries after leftists came to power: Cubans who fled Castro; Venezuelans who flocked to Dade and Broward counties after Chávez was elected; even middle-and-upper-class Colombians who abandoned their country in the late 1990s, when the FARC’s strength made the security situation too precarious.

However, Marisa Treviño of Latina Lista sees this trip as simply going for the votes and not necessarily actively working for resolution of the topics address on the trip:

In fact, a trip to Latin America, at this point in time, serves more as a blatant attempt to pander for the Hispanic vote rather than any constructive trip to achieve results.

(…)

Visiting Latin America without being able to do nothing more than not being able to promise anything seems like a photo opp and nothing more.

In addition to an audience of potential Latino voters in the United States, Greg Weeks of Weeks Notice adds another potential audience that McCain may be addressing:

Those who see Obama as naïve in foreign affairs: McCain wants to show how he stands up for “our friends” in the hemisphere. No matter what you think of this argument, with regard to foreign policy most voters care about Iraq, but will pay little attention to how we deal with Uribe.

Perhaps by luck, McCain's visit coincided with the rescue operation that freed Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages, including 3 U.S. citizens. El Blog Al Dia [es] writes that President Uribe informed McCain of the rescue attempt hours before it was scheduled to take place.

Some Colombian bloggers like Juan Gratiniano Lopez are very skeptical of McCain's visit, and wonders if there is some alternate reason for the visit [es] looking towards its neighbor of Venezuela:

Sera que el señor MC Cain ha ido a Colombia a negociar otro apoyo del “gobierno” colombiano para invadir otra nacion?? sera que quieren tener a Uribe en la maleta por si ahora la invasion es de un pais suramericano??

So what do you all think? Was this an "accident" or something more sinister?

The plane was a U.S. Navy plane. You'll remember that about a month ago the U.S. Navy reestablished an fleet in the Caribbean.

Via / BBC

"El gobierno de Colombia es capaz, así lo digo, es capaz de provocar una guerra con Venezuela para tratar de justificar la intervención de los Estados Unidos en Venezuela", expresó el mandatario, en su habitual mensaje dominical.

The Wall Street Journal reported May 9 that the files showed that Chavez sought guerrilla warfare training from the FARC, as the rebel group is known, and may have offered to supply them with rockets, citing unnamed senior U.S. intelligence officials. The findings may increase pressure for the U.S. to put Venezuela on the list of state sponsors of terrorism, the Journal reported.

Post extendido - Leer más 'Hugo Chavez Says Colombia (and U.S.) Trying to Provoke War'...

"Listen to me people, it's time for something different…
What we need is a new presidente
How do you say it? What is he called? OBAMA! OBAMA!
Mexicans, what is his name? OBAMA! OBAMA!
Puerto Ricans, what is his name?OBAMA! OBAMA!
Peruvians, what is his name?OBAMA! OBAMA!"

The presidential campaign of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday that her husband, the former president, supports a free trade agreement with Colombia that she strenuously opposes.

Hillary has sided with the Uribe government before, most recently regarding Colombia's so-called defensive actions in Ecuador.

Via / Yahoo!

Mexican-American Miguel Orozco in California has created a website, Amigos de Obama, that features a downloadable reggaeton tune in MP3 that can even be used as a mobile phone ring tone (listen here).

The lyrics in Spanish to the sexy Caribbean beat, go:

Listen to me people, it's time for something different…
What we need is a new presidente
How do you say it? What is he called?
OBAMA! OBAMA! (repeat)
Mexicans, what is his name?
OBAMA! OBAMA!
Puerto Ricans, what is his name?
OBAMA! OBAMA!
Peruvians, what is his name?
OBAMA! OBAMA!

Amigos de Obama also reaches out to Latino voters in the United States with a music video of Mexican mariachis lauding Obama.

Colombian singer Andrés Useche wrote a song for Obama, while he was volunteering with the grassroots group, United for Obama.

And finally (via The World Wants Obama), Jamaican reggae artist Cocoa Tea and Trinidadian-Grenadian, The Mighty Sparrow have each produced irresistible new tunes about their presidential candidate of choice.

Cocoa Tea sings: “‘This is not about class nor color, race nor creed. It’s about the changes, that the Americans need.”

Mighty Sparrow's lyrics dig deep into policy and personal history. His message: “The respect of the world that we now lack, If you want it back then, vote Barack!

"I will oppose the Colombia Free Trade Agreement if President Bush insists on sending it to Congress because the violence against unions in Colombia would make a mockery of the very labor protections that we have insisted be included in these kinds of agreements," Obama said Wednesday at a meeting of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO in Philadelphia.

outrage" ("atropello") to "make these statements about Colombia without having all the facts."

Via / The Latin Americanist and Candidato USA

Venezuelan authorities have launched a new operation against the illegal drugs trade by bombing secret airstrips in remote parts of the country.
The first runway to be destroyed was 15km (nine miles) from the Colombian border in the state of Apure.

Via / BBC