Document Type

Colloquium Brief

Publication Date

5-11-2004

Abstract

The Latin American and Caribbean Center of Florida International University, the U.S. Southern Command, and the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College held the seventh in a series of major annual conferences dealing with security matters in the Western Hemisphere, in Miami, Florida, on March 17-19, 2004. The conference focused on "Hemispheric Strategic Objectives for the Next Decade." This event brought together over 190 leading representatives of government, the military, academia, and the private sector from the United States, Canada, Latin America, and the European Union (EU). Attendees participated in a program of "on-the-record" panels and discussions to exchange perspectives with fellow experts on the region. The principal objectives were to evaluate the evolving definitions of hemispheric security, review the debate surrounding the institutional structures that will support it, and examine the concepts required to strengthen security cooperation in the Western Hemisphere. The dialogue centered on a complex geopolitical situation that might be called "Wizard's Chess." After the horrific events of 9/11 and before the sobering terrorist bombings on Madrid's commuter railway system on March 11, 2004, it acted as a catalyst that moved leaders toward the idea of a "New Security" in the international security arena.

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