Dear “Plan Colombia and Beyond†readers,
At the end of April, I’ll be leaving the Center for International Policy.
This decision owes to financial realities, and has nothing to do with the affection and gratitude I feel for my co-workers, management, board and supporters here at CIP, some of whom have accompanied me for all of my fourteen and a half years here. I hope to continue working with them as part of the community of organizations advocating human rights, demilitarization and social justice in U.S. foreign policy. CIP is a vital organization that deserves your support.
In early May, I’ll be joining the staff of the Washington Office on Latin America, where I’ll coordinate WOLA’s security policy program. While I’m saddened by my departure from CIP, I’m very excited by the opportunities that await me at WOLA.
My work there will be more regional than it has been here. WOLA already covers Colombia extensively, and while I hope to contribute to that, it will not be my main focus. Instead, we’ll be working on transparency and accountability in U.S. military programs, regional defense relations, civilian and military roles in U.S. aid to the region, and other issues to be developed with WOLA’s security team.
This change means that, as of May, “Plan Colombia and Beyond†will no longer be updated. The www.cipcol.org archives will remain online indefinitely, but after five and a half years and over 900 posts, this blog will be retiring.
That doesn’t mean I’m going to stop using the weblog format, which has greatly multiplied the reach of my work here. I’ll still be contributing constantly to the “Just the Facts†blog (www.justf.org/blog), and intend to launch a new resource at WOLA. Though I don’t know yet what form it will take, I’ll let you know where to find it once it’s up and running, which shouldn’t be long.
From my new position, I’ll continue to work on the “Just the Facts†security-assistance-monitoring website and program (www.justf.org), which WOLA’s executive director, Joy Olson, and I started in 1997 when she was at the Latin America Working Group. That website is going to keep getting better, with even more current, primary information and new analyses.
Thank you so much for visiting and participating in “Plan Colombia and Beyond†since its launch in October 2004. Thanks for making this a successful resource that I’ve always enjoyed working on. I hope it has contributed in some small way toward improving U.S. policy toward Colombia and its neighbors.
So this isn’t goodbye — it’s just “goodbye†from this particular website. Stay tuned, and please keep in touch.
Sincerely,
Adam Isacson
April 20th, 2010 at 6:44 pm
This blog has been a great resource since I first found it and I must say I respect your decision, despite wishing otherwise. I hope to see more of your work and, if possibly, find a similar environment where different opinions can be exchanged.
April 20th, 2010 at 7:15 pm
I felt something strange was going on in this blog … I hope our participation in the blog uncovering atrocities and discussing touchy topics did not play a significant role in your change of status. Good luck and thanks for everything.
April 20th, 2010 at 8:44 pm
We’ll all miss you, Mr. Isacson. All the best in your new position.
Very sincerely–Camilo Wilson
April 20th, 2010 at 9:29 pm
Congrats on the new position.
April 20th, 2010 at 9:42 pm
What Boz said, but the web is losing the best resource on Colombia, bar none.
Good luck and I hope you’ll stay in touch.
April 21st, 2010 at 12:08 am
Sorry to hear you are leaving.
Many thanks for keeping this blog. Best of luck!
April 21st, 2010 at 12:09 am
Adam,
Best of luck on your new endeavors. I’m sure you’ll continue to bring to our attention excellent material on Latin American -something is becoming harder to find nowadays- I’ll miss the commentary on Colombia so i hope to find some of that on the new blog. Let us know when it becomes available,
Saludos
Rafael
April 21st, 2010 at 1:01 am
Nothing left to say. I second everybody’s sentiment. Congratulations Adam, thanks a lot for these stimulating years of discussion and best of luck in your new endeavor.
April 21st, 2010 at 4:01 am
Thanks so much for these 6 years of great information! Im already waiting for your new blog.
April 21st, 2010 at 5:35 am
Adam, best of luck in your new role, and thanks mfor this fantastic blog! Kind regards, Paolo
April 21st, 2010 at 6:56 am
This will be a real loss. But it’s not only the blog – it’s the near-daily news stories that you relay. I wonder whether you’d be willing to share with this list what that gathering of news stories requires, and invite possible replacement efforts. We already struggle with how little awareness there is of Colombia developments. I suspect that there may be either an inspired and committed volunteer, or an organization, that could pick up at least the news distribution piece. I suspect a lot of folks on this list would want to continue to receive that as well.
April 21st, 2010 at 7:29 am
Thanks a lot for the great work you did here and congratulations on the new job. !Gracias!
April 21st, 2010 at 8:47 am
I don’t frequent blogs, with the exception of this one. Good luck in your new position. Enjoyed reading your insightful posts, as well as those of the readers. LFM, I will miss your thoughtful comments as well.
All the best.
April 21st, 2010 at 9:37 am
I will miss your blog posts, I will miss your comments, I will miss you Mister Isacson.
April 21st, 2010 at 12:52 pm
I too sensed that something was amiss in the last few weeks, too bad you are leaving, your insight was always welcomed. I wish you luck in your new position.
add my address to the list of those interested in knowing what you are up to. (seriously)
April 21st, 2010 at 2:47 pm
Adam,
As a journalist covering Colombia from the US, your blog has always been a tremendous resource for news and analysis when I’m doing my reporting. I’m sorry to see you go, but congrats on your new position. I know we’ll all follow your efforts over at WOLA.
April 21st, 2010 at 9:43 pm
Adam, Just read this post. I concur with other commenters: Your blog has been the very best source of info and objective commentary regarding Colombian affairs. Just like the others, I regret that the Plan Colombia and Beyond Blog is shutting down, but we’ll be following you over at the Just the Facts and Wola, so keep us posted! Suerte y un abrazo, T
April 21st, 2010 at 10:38 pm
Now who will Camilla claim to be a tool of the FARC?
April 21st, 2010 at 11:03 pm
Yeah, who knows what Camilla will do with all her/his time…. Maybe follow you to WOLA’s webspace. Yikes.
I’ve read this blog religiously since I started following the conflict in 2004. It’s been amazingly helpful and provided a lot of great background for the research I did with Colombian refugees in Ecuador. Thanks for all the hard work and I look forward to following your web presence elsewhere.
April 22nd, 2010 at 9:14 am
This is truly sad news but it is wonderful that the work and research related with this site was with us for as long as it was.
April 22nd, 2010 at 9:16 am
Good luck in your new endeavor, Adam! Best wishes for the future.
April 23rd, 2010 at 1:52 pm
Good luck, Adam. I have followed this blog for a while and extensively quoted your well-researched information in many different projects for my work. Thank you, and all the best to you.
April 24th, 2010 at 5:13 pm
I would like to contact Mr. Adam Isacson.
Please email me.
Regards,
April 25th, 2010 at 11:39 am
Really sad to hear you’re leaving – but looking forward to the new blog – or whatever – at WOLA. Thanks for providing such a vital resource for everyone who cares about Colombia and its future. All the best.
April 30th, 2010 at 8:47 pm
You have made a difference. That is something that most men cannot claim in their lifetime. Thank you for your work.
May 2nd, 2010 at 11:49 pm
Congratulations on your new job. You will be missed.
May 5th, 2010 at 12:21 am
Thanks for a fantastic blog, sad to see it gone. Why don’t you just keep it running until the elections at least..?
May 9th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
Adam:
You have provided an incredible resource. As someone who studies Colombia academically, I have found it to be extremely useful. I know you will do great things at WOLA and I will be sure to follow your work there. Thank you and keep at it. We are reading.
All the best,
Louis