What Members of Congress Hear

Congressional testimony: Douglas Farah on Russia's role in Latin America:

Yet given its current positioning, one could argue that Russia now has more influence in Latin America than ever before, even including at the height of the Cold War. This will likely remain true despite the recent announcement of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States and Russia’s ongoing economic turmoil.

Holy smokes, what a crock, and it's depressing to think members of Congress now tuck this away in their brains for future reference. But wait, it gets worse!

The ALBA bloc embraces terrorism and terrorist groups such as the FARC in Colombia, Hezbollah and the Spanish ETA and its military doctrine includes the justification for the use of weapons of mass destruction against the United States.

This is crazy, but we know where it's leading, which is...

Russia’s rise underscores the significant loss of Washington’s ability to shape events in a region close to home and of significant strategic interest. This decline, due to waning policy attention amidst multiple global crises and severe budget constraints, is leaving a diminishing group of friends in the hemisphere. Since 2010, U.S. engagement efforts, both military and diplomatic, have been scaled back dramatically with overall aid decreasing both civilian and security assistance. And regional initiatives have been among the hardest hit by the ongoing budget austerity,33 which has left a vacuum that is being filled by extraregional actors and a growing group of political leaders who hope for the collapse of the United States.

We're losing Latin America! Except we're clearly not. But Farah has talked to some people who say we are.

Back to my previous point. Members of Congress have limited time and expertise, which is why they call people to testify before them. If this is the quality of the analyses they receive, we can hardly blame them for making terrible decisions based on alarmism and nostalgia for the Cold War.