2008: Bill Richardson's foreign policy experience

I continue to believe, as I did in 2004, that the ticket of John Edwards for president and Bill Richardson for vice-president is the most formidable of the possible combinations the Democrats might field. A red herring in every presidential contest is the lack of foreign policy experience attributed to the potential nominees, especially the Democrats. Gov. Richardson, who entered the race last week, is one aspirant who will be immune from this canard. If he doesn't end up being Edwards' vice-president, at least he should be secretary of state. Among his diplomatic efforts so far:

December 1984: As chairman of the congressional Hispanic caucus, Richardson headed a delegation to nine countries in Latin America.

Late 1988: Richardson traveled to Angola to meet with rebel leader Jonas Savimbi, who was fighting against the Marxist-led government.

August 1993: Richardson traveled to Myanmar where he was the first non-family member permitted to visit pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi while she was under house arrest.

July 1994: In a meeting with Gen. Raoul Cedras, Richardson urged the then military ruler of Haiti to step aside and allow Pres. Jean-Bertrand Aristide to return to power. Although Cedras refused to abdicate immediately, he fled the country three months later under pressure from Pres. Clinton.

December 1994: Richardson spent five days in North Korea negotiating the release of two U.S. Army helicopter pilots who had been shot down. The governor left with the remains of one who had died in the crash. Eight days after his departure, the surviving pilot was released in the wake of a separate visit by a Clinton administration official.

July 1995: Richardson flew to Iraq and successfully negotiated with Saddam Hussein for the release of two U.S. oil workers who wandered over the Iraq-Kuwait border.

January 1996: Richardson visited Cuba to press Fidel Castro for the release of political prisoners and for human rights reform. After a return visit a month later, Castro released three of 10 prisoners Richardson had requested.

March 1996: In a secret meeting in Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milosevic gave Richardson a Balkan peace plan to take back to Washington. The Clinton administration found it unacceptable.

July 1996: In Bangladesh, Richardson negotiated the release of an American woman, Eliadah "Lia'' McCord, who had received a life sentence for muling heroin.

November 1996: On a fourth trip to North Korea, his first as special U.S. envoy, Richardson successfully negotiated the release of a troubled 26-year-old American named Evan Hunziker who had entered the country by swimming across the Yalu River.

December 1996: Richardson successfully negotiated the release of three Red Cross workers held captive by rebels in Sudan.

April 1997: Richardson, on his first mission as U.N. ambassador, traveled to Zaire to try to negotiate a peaceful transfer of power from Mobutu Sese Seko to Laurent Kabila. The two foes couldn't agree on a meeting place.

April 1998: The first cabinet-rank American in 24 years to visit Afghanistan, Richardson tried to persuade the Taliban to make peace with the Northern Alliance, improve the status of women and expel Osama bin Laden.

September 2006: Richardson was successful in negotiations with Pres. Omar al-Bashir of Sudan for the release of a New Mexico journalist and two others who had entered the country from Chad without papers to report on atrocities in Darfur.

January 2007: Richardson made a third trip to Sudan, this time to negotiate with al-Bashir and rebel leaders for an end to the fighting in Darfur. The Sudanese president refused Richardson's request to allow U.N. peacekeepers in to the country. He did agree to a cease-fire, but he broke it a few days later.

From Between Worlds: The Making of an American Life by Bill Richardson.