Ambassador William Brownfield leaves Colombia .

[Judi Lynn]

Ambassador William Brownfield leaves Colombia .
Friday, 13 August 2010 15:17 Cameron Sumpter

Outgoing U.S. Ambassador William Brownfield is leaving Colombia on a better note than he left his previous post as ambassador to Venezuela.

One of Brownfield's last acts as the U.S. representative in Venezuela was to send President Chavez a red T-shirt with the phrase, "Uh Ah, Brownfield is going," in a clear jibe at the Chavez re-election campaign slogan, "Uh Ah, Chavez is not going."

According to a report by Colombian weekly magazine Semana, Brownfield will leave Colombia on much better terms, with the belief that Colombia has improved protection of human rights and restored state institutions, despite the controversy of U.S. military bases on Colombian soil, and the fact that Brownfield didn't see the passage of the stalled free trade agreement.

Incoming U.S.ambassador Michael McKinley will arrive in Colombia under a different atmosphere than his predecessor, as many analysts believe that although Colombia is still one of the best friends of the U.S. in the region, the Andean nation is no longer among the priorities of U.S. foreign policy.

"Although Brownfield sought a friendly relationship and tried to communicate the decisions of its government well, today Colombia has a low profile with the government of Barack Obama," said Horacio Godoy, director of international relations at Bogota's University del Norte.

Godoy believes that although Brownfield was media-savvy and able to dodge tricky questions with humor, he struggled because he was restricted by the limited power that the U.S. gives its diplomatic corps.

"Although he was sociable, conversational and struck a chord with the media, and also knew the problems of the region, we did not see him playing a leading role," Godoy said.

More:
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/11337-ambassador-william-brownfield-leaves-colombia.html

[Peace Patriot]

1. I'm recommending this article not because it contains anything that is true or believable

(it does not) but because it's important to keep up with CIA scribblings, and where they appear, and who writes them.

Also, who gets quoted in them. ("'We did not see him playing a leading role,' Godoy said.")