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Posted by FoM on July 21, 2001 at 08:44:39 PT Editorial Source: Chicago Tribune 
In government, failed policies seldom are re-thought let alone abandoned--they tend to expand. Rather than blame flawed thinking or bad information, failure is interpreted as a sign of insufficient time or funding.During the past 18 months, the $1.3 billion anti-narcotics Plan Colombia has not markedly reduced violence or drug production there--or made it more difficult or expensive to buy cocaine in the U.S. Undeterred by such failure, however, the Bush administration now is pushing a nearly $1 billion sequel, the Andean Counterdrug Initiative, that largely reinforces and expands past mistakes. Debate began this week on funding the new initiative. Congress ought to consider alternatives, such as rechanneling the money into expanded drug rehabilitation at home. A key component of Plan Colombia has been fumigation of coca crops. After fumigating approximately 128,000 acres of coca--along with people, farm animals and food crops--the effort has only succeeded in relocating the coca fields. Most of the coca that used to grow in the Putumayo province has moved to nearby Narino. "And if they fumigate Narino, the problem will go to another place," warned its governor, while the governor of Putumayo estimated that half the fields sprayed in his area were food crops. The military component of Plan Colombia hasn't fared much better. Colombian guerrillas now are seeking shelter in neighboring Ecuador, spreading the violence. And by failing to deal with the murderous paramilitary units, the plan has increased bloodshed. On April 12 paramilitaries massacred 40 peasants and cut up their bodies with chainsaws, and the war-related body count nationwide is up to about 20 a day. The Andean Initiative's solution to the spreading mayhem is to continue military aid to Colombia (about $363 million) and increase military aid to its six neighbors to defend themselves from the aftershocks. Ecuador and Brazil, for instance, would get about $32 million and $16.3 million respectively to reinforce their borders with Colombia. Bush's initiative also provides social and economic aid to these countries--a welcome change--but still nearly 55 percent of the entire package would go to military aid. Previous U.S. interventions succeeded only in moving coca production and drug violence from neighboring countries to Colombia. Now the process seems to be working in reverse. American addicts' insatiable craving for narcotics--and the obscene profits to be made by suppliers--doom most supply-side police or military tactics, particularly remote-control operations masterminded from Washington. Early in his administration, President Bush said he appreciated this reality and wanted to increase funding for drug rehabilitation programs. Rethinking Plan Colombia and channeling some or all of that money into treatment and education programs would be a place to start. Such a U-turn would not be a typical government move, but it is the most sensible thing to do. Source: Chicago Tribune (IL) Colombia Drug War News Colombia Drug Policy Questioned Hoover Recommends Cures for Colombia Drug War Could Escalate Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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Comment #2 posted by lookinside on July 21, 2001 at 10:04:56 PT:
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| i'd be glad to help...need more charcoal? for bait, a $100 bill just inside your front gate, labeled the only downside i can think of is their inability to SHUT [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #1 posted by kaptinemo on July 21, 2001 at 09:16:10 PT:
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| Not without more activism at the State level; the Feds are hopelessly addicted to their DrugWar. Nothing short of cold-turkey will help them. (But then, I've heard some fascinating accounts of "Rethinking Plan Colombia and channeling some or all of Yes, sensible...if you don't stand to lose millions for Sensible...if you don't want to continue propping up the Sensible...if your concern was for the welfare of those In all the time I've been alive, I've known very few [ Post Comment ] |
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