Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez on Jan. 31 poked fun at Colombia's expulsion of a Venezuelan soldier accused of carrying out an operation in Colombian territory, saying "only people like Rambo or the Terminator undertake solo missions." Sgt. Juan Gómez of the Venezuelan National Guard was expelled from Colombia for "reasons of national security" Jan. 27, the same day that Colombia said that a Venezuelan helicopter violated its airspace.

Plan Colombia, the US financial and military aid program to fight drug trafficking and guerrillas, is not mentioned in the 2011 budget proposal that President Barack Obama sent to Congress. According to JustF.org, Colombia will receive $228 million in military aid, 20% less than it received in 2009. Economic aid will slightly be diminished and is proposed to be set at $239 million. Colombia still remains the largest US aid recipient in South America.

The Colombian Air Force denied Jan. 31 that its planes had bombed the indigenous Embera Katío community of Alto Guayabal in the Urabá region early that morning, leaving four wounded. But the following day, the army's Seventh Division issued a statement taking responsibility for the air-strike, saying they took place in operations against the FARC rebels. Calling the casualties "lamentable," the statement said two of the injured were evacuated to Medellín. The Indigenous Organization of Antioquia (OIA) said one of the casualties was an infant. Indigenous leader William Carupia accused the army of "indiscriminately bombing the communities." (El Tiempo, Bogotá, Feb. 2; El Colombiano, Medellín, RNV, Venezuela, AFP, Feb. 1) Last year the FARC was accused of assassinating Embera residents in the region.

Two high-ranking Israeli military officers have been disciplined for firing shells into a populated area of the Gaza Strip during last year's Operation Cast Lead, it was revealed Feb. 1. The information was contained in a 46-page report presented to the UN on Jan. 29 describing Israel's role in the January 2009 Gaza offensive. According to the report, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fired several artillery shells near populated areas in the Tel el-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City, destroying a UN compound and a Palestinian hospital. The UN maintains that the compound was hit with white phosphorus shells, while the report concludes that the "use of this weapon in the operation was consistent with Israel's obligations under international law." The two officers involved have since been disciplined for "exceeding their authority in a manner that jeopardized the lives of others," but the Military Advocate General will not pursue a criminal investigation, and the officers will keep their rank and pay. (Jurist, Feb. 1)

Former US Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) lawyers John Yoo and Jay Bybee have been cleared of allegations of wrongdoing in relation to their memos asserting the legality of "enhanced interrogation techniques," Newsweek reported Jan. 29. The results of the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) investigation of the two former OLC attorneys have yet to be officially released, but the probe is reported to have concluded that the pair exercised poor judgment in crafting the 2002 memos—a finding that does not qualify as professional misconduct.

The US Department of Justice is investigating whether Blackwater, now known as Xe, bribed Iraqi officials to allow the company to continue operating in the country following shooting deaths in 2007, the New York Times reported Jan. 31. The Justice Department's fraud division reportedly began an inquiry into the alleged $1 million bribery in late 2009. Bribery of foreign officials is a violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Blackwater will likely claim that the $1 million was restitution to the families of the individuals killed in 2007, which would exempt the company from violation of federal law. A conviction under the FCPA may include both criminal and civil penalties. (Jurist, Feb. 1)

More than 50 countries, including the US, China, and EU member states, submitted plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the UN Framework on Climate Change (UNFCC) prior to a Jan. 31 deadline set by the non-binding Copenhagen Accord. Relative to 2005 levels, the US has pledged to reduce emissions to 17%, while China has targeted a 40 to 45 percent reduction per GDP unit. EU members pledged a 20% reduction below 1990 levels. The countries submitting plans to the UNFCC represent two-thirds of worldwide emissions. Critics of the Copenhagen Accord say it lacks the enforcement mechanisms needed to ensure compliance, and is unlikely to limit global temperature rise to the indicated levels. Another round of climate change talks are scheduled for December, with the hope being that a binding resolution can be developed from the pledges made under the current accord. (Jurst, Feb. 1)

Citing budgetary constraints, President Barack Obama has cancelled the US project designed to take humans back to the Moon. The Constellation program envisaged a new crew ship called Orion to put astronauts on the lunar surface by 2020. But in his 2011 budget request issued Feb. 1, Obama said the project is too costly, "behind schedule, and lacking in innovation." The president said he plans to turn to the private sector for launch services. "While we're cancelling Constellation, we're not cancelling our ambitions," said Jim Kohlenberger, chief of staff at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). (BBC News, Feb. 1)