![We’ve turned our attention to Latin America again. That’s bad for Latin America.](https://stephenkinzer.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/unnamed-4-194x120.jpg)
We’ve turned our attention to Latin America again. That’s bad for Latin America.
The US wars in the Middle East distracted us, for a time, from a destructive meddling closer to home.
![In September, a US soldier on a road in Syria as a boy carried snacks to sell in the so-called safe zone on the Syrian side of the border with Turkey. MAYA ALLERUZZO/AP](https://stephenkinzer.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/unnamed-3-194x120.jpg)
Trump’s real impeachable offense
Can Trump be deposed for being a bad president? Certainly not. Were his dealings with Ukraine so egregious as to justify his removal from office? Maybe. Should he be impeached? Yes — but not for any of the reasons his enemies cite.
![Our misunderstanding of the hostage crisis still poisons US-Iran relations](https://stephenkinzer.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/unnamed-2-194x120.jpg)
Our misunderstanding of the hostage crisis still poisons US-Iran relations
A FEW WEEKS AGO, as I was giving a speech urging better relations between the United States and Iran, a man on the edge of the crowd began shouting in protest. Slowly I was able to make out his words. He was chanting a single phrase: “Hostage crisis! Hostage crisis! Hostage crisis!”