Geopolitical Monitor - Region: North America

Amid much fanfare last week, the last supposed “combat” troops left Iraq as the administration touted the beginning of the end of the Iraq War and a change in the role of the United States in that country. However, military officials confirm that we are committed to intervention in that country for years to come, says U.S. congressman Ron Paul.

August 25th, 2010 (Geopoliticalmonitor.com) - Grim figures out of the housing market in the United States emerged yesterday. According to the National Association of Realtors, sales of existing homes dropped 27.2 percent in July to reach their lowest level in ten years.

The appearance of four bodies hanging from a bridge in Cuernavaca serves as a grim reminder that Mexico’s drug war is far from over.

Since BP announced that CEO Tony Hayward would receive a multi-million dollar golden parachute and be replaced by Bob Dudley, we have witnessed an incredibly broad, and powerful, propaganda campaign.

August 11th (Geopoliticalmonitor.com) - US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is attempting to pre-empt Congress defense spending cuts by implementing a round of his own.

Arizona's tough anti-immigrant legislation, though watered-down, could still feed into recruiting efforts for Mexican organized crime.

HAARP (High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program) is a little-known, yet critically important U.S. military defense program which has generated quite a bit of controversy over the years in certain circles.

Some US officials are backing away from the idea that the July 2011 deadline set by President Obama will mark a major drawdown of US forces from Afghanistan. But leading Democrats, aware of growing opposition to the war among supporters, are singing a different tune.

July 29, 2010 (Geopoliticalmonitor.com) - Quebec sovereigntists and their detractors in Quebec and the rest of Canada are weighing the significance of the International Court of Justice's recent advisory opinion on Kosovo for national unity in Canada.  The Court’s advisory opinion has spurred a debate on the subject in the country’s French-language press.

July 26, 2010 (Geopoliticalmonitor.com) - The government of Canada recently announced a plan to purchase 65 Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft.