Colombia continues to expand its role as a security exporter across the region, and Secretary Hagel will underscore the United States' continued support for these efforts, as well as Colombia's internal counterinsurgency operations as the government pursues a peace process. He will also seek new avenues for future security cooperation and visit a Colombian military base to observe training for Colombian special forces and aviators.
That is, after decades of being an importer (or consumer) of foreign security provided to Colombia to cope with the threat, Colombia can now help others get security.
I congratulated the Obama administration for staying the course on this long war, which went against his political base's determination to lose that war when the president was Bush.
Colombia's dramatic progress after so many decades of appearing to be on the ropes should be a lesson to us in perseverance as we continue to fight Islamist ideology that spawns the jihadi death cults.
Winning is the only way to responsibly end a war.
