"The American Jewish Committee was slated to present Uribe with a “Light Unto the Nations Award” on Thursday night at its annual meeting in Washington. A statement released by the AJCommittee in advance of the dinner said the honor reflected the Colombian leader’s “relentless pursuit of peace, security and prosperity.” The fete shone as a rare bright-spot this week for Uribe, who is one of the Bush administration’s leading friends in Latin America but has found himself battered by criticism over his allies’ alleged ties to right-wing death squads responsible for assassinating union leaders. Last month, former vice president Al Gore snubbed the Colombian president by refusing to appear with him at a forum in Miami. The day before, Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy, chairman of the subcommittee overseeing foreign funds, froze $55 million in military aid to Colombia over the paramilitary scandal." (thanks May)