Foreign Digest: Bolivia; Lebanon; and the Global War on Terrorism

Bolivia: the conviction and sentencing of the former acting President who took power after a public uprising forced the increasingly authoritarian left-wing President from power. The deposed Bolivian leader had already served three terms, despite a constitutional limit of two terms and the rejection of a referendum to eliminate term limits, and then claimed re-election to a fourth term, which prompted the revolt. The acting President became chief executive under Bolivia’s constitution. But a subsequent election victory by the leftists led to her prosecution. The United States and the international community should demand she be freed and that the rule of law be upheld, instead of the law of political vendetta that undermines liberty. Lebanon: The Hezbollah members convicted of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri in 2005 in a massive bombing were sentenced to life imprisonment. Hezbollah is a Shi’ite terrorist organization backed by Islamist Iran and its ally, Syria, which often dominates Lebanon’s politics. It has a political wing that recently lost power. The conviction of the Hezbollah assassins is a major political turning point for Lebanon away from dominance by Syria and Iran. Hezbollah had tried for years to stop any inquiry into its complicity and to undermine the independence of the judiciary. Thus, the sentence is not only about justice and ending political violence, but about Lebanese independence. The Global War on Terrorism: France and the United States both captured major Islamist terrorists, in Mali and Syria, respectively. France has been assisting Mali against al-Qaeda, the organization responsible for the September 11, 2001 Attacks on New York and Washington, D.C. that killed a record number of people, but will be withdrawing soon from its former colony because the junta that took over in a coup is turning elsewhere for assistance. The U.S. has been targeting various terrorists in Syria, in this case a leader of the Islamic State, which is an offshoot of al-Qaeda.