The Monitor's View  In Colombia and Afghanistan, elections that
pacify  Elections in Colombia and Afghanistan put a democratic
stamp on talks with rebels, or a listening to their political
views while rejecting their violence.     • close     Colombian
President Juan Manuel Santos gestures to the crowd after winning
a second term in a presidential election June 15. His victory
allows him to continue peace talks with Marxist guerrillas.
View Caption 1 of 2  In the two dozen or so countries facing
violent insurgencies, such as Iraq and Pakistan, the preferred
response has been military force. Yet in two countries, Colombia
and Afghanistan, elections held this past weekend point to an
alternative: reaching out to insurgents with a degree of empathy
toward some of their ideas – if not their violent tactics.
Colombia’s president, Juan Manuel Santos, was reelected Sunday
in a victory seen as a referendum on his peace negotiations with
the left-wing FARC rebels. With his mandate renewed, Mr. Santos
may now more