Peace talks between Colombian President Andres Pastrana and guerrilla leader Manuel Marulanda entered their second day today, fueling hopes for some breakthrough in ending the country's 37-year conflict. On Thursday, Pastrana rather boldly placed himself in the hands of the enemy, flying into the town of San Vicente del Caguan with a minimal security detail. The town is held by the main rebel army...

Once again, the inestimable National Security Archive (NSA) has created a timely and useful electronic briefing book with declassified documents that shed light on recent events. In this case, the event is the accidental shoot down of a civilian aircraft carrying missionaries in Peru on April 20. The site offers the full text of thirteen declassified documents from 1994 which shed light on...