In 1981, the Soviet Union blocked UN peacekeeping efforts during the ArabIsraeli crisis. President Ronald Reagan again sent out the call for allies. The Colombian army once again responded, and it remains one of the few successful institutions keeping peace in that tortured region. Of all Latin-American nations, Colombia most closely resembles the United States. Civilian presidents have historically tried to select the best features of the US civil military structure for application to Colombia's needs.
Many analysts consider Colombia's army to be the best small war and peacekeeping force in the world.
Thus, this the best book on the Colombian drug war ever written is really a moral statement, however unintended it might be. The reader can conclude that the United States will take help if it is offered, but it will not provide reciprocal assistance even if the US drug consumer is responsible for the death of an ally. Lieutenant Colonel Russell W. Ramsey, US Army Reserve, Retired, is professor and director of Latin American Studies at the US Army School of the Americans, Fort Benning, Georgia. He received a B.A. from the US Military Academy, an M.A. from the Universtiy of Southern Mississippi and a Ph.D. from the University of Florida. He is a graduate of the Command and Staff of the Army and Air Force course and the Institute of Administration of Resources.