Chile & Argentina...and Women in Charge

This evening, I read an interesting article about Chile's thawing relationship with Argentina. Michelle Bachelet, Chile's new president, met with Nestor Kirchner, Argentina's president. The countries' respective defense ministers also met with one another. I thought the following comments from an analysis by Justin Vogler of the Santiago Times were particularly interesting:

Military collaboration is another area of specific interest to Bachelet. Vivianne Blanlot, Chile’s new defense minister, will meet her Argentine counterpart, Nilda Garré, to ratify an agreement on transparency of defense budgets and the formation of a bi-national force to take part in international peacekeeping operations.

The logic is self evident. Both governments are keen to give their respective armed forces a new raison d’être that doesn’t involve antagonizing each other or dabbling in politics. A “strategic alliance” based on transparency, a commitment to democracy and international peace keeping is an excellent solution. A good indication of what can be achieved when you put women in charge of national defense.

Read the entire article here.