John:

I came away feeling cautiously optimistic.

It seemed to me that the political future of Colombia was the critical issue. I would think that having someone like former defense minister Santos continue the Uribe government policies would be the best. However, if Uribe does achieve a third term will this derail the gains of the last ten years?

The PCSD and my observations of their forces leads me to believe that they have identified and are now dealing with the challenges of this phase of the war. I am heartened to hear that, after defeating the large FARC columns, they haven't declared victory and ignored the root causes.

"Irreversibility" was the buzz word around Bogotá. In your opinion what are the signs/steps that must be seen for Colombia to achieve a lasting victory over the FARC?

V/R

Mike