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| U.S. House Backs Funds To Fight Colombian Drugs |
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Posted by FoM on July 24, 2001 at 17:51:04 PT By John Whitesides Source: Reuters 
The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday rejected a Democratic-led effort to cut U.S. contributions to the fight against the Colombian drug trade and shift the funds to other priorities.The House defeated several attempts to reduce the $676 million targeted for President George W. Bush's Andean Initiative, which would provide drug-fighting aid to Colombia and six neighboring South American countries. The money, included in a $15.2 billion foreign aid bill for the fiscal year beginning in October, is designed to build on the $1.3 billion in aid approved last year for former President Bill Clinton's "Plan Colombia," the cornerstone of an international effort to stabilize the violence-torn country. This year's money would pay for programs to increase the Andean nation's legitimate economic development and judicial reform, as well as eradicate and replace the coca crop. The money also would pay for expanded counternarcotics aid to Colombia's neighbors, which have faced spillover effects from the trafficking by Colombian drug lords who produce almost all of the cocaine sold in the United States. Democrats, led by Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern, unsuccessfully tried to cut $100 million in military aid and shift it to children's health programs, saying Plan Colombia had not worked and the increased military activity it fostered had led to an increase in human rights abuses. "This amendment is not about walking away from Colombia," McGovern said. "It's about saying very clearly that human rights do matter." Complicated Anti-Drug Struggle Colombia's anti-drug struggle is complicated by the narcotics trade involvement of paramilitaries and leftist rebels who have waged a bloody, 37-year-old insurgency. Several army officers are under investigation for coordinating killings with right-wing vigilantes. "What we are trying to do is send a strong signal, a clear signal, that the Colombian military must cut its ties to paramilitaries," McGovern said. The foreign aid bill already includes $55 million less for the Colombia drug-fighting effort than Bush requested. Republican supporters argued it needed more time to work, saying the helicopters and other U.S. aid promised the Colombian military were just beginning to arrive. The House rejected McGovern's amendment on a 249-179 vote. The House also defeated 240-188 an effort to increase the bill's $100 million for a global trust fund to battle AIDS by $60 million. A portion of those funds also would have been shifted from the drug-fighting effort. The House did approve 258-162 an amendment by Rep. Pete Visclosky, an Indiana Democrat, to trim funding for the U.S. Export-Import Bank to approximately $738 million and transfer $18 million to programs that benefit children with polio and HIV/AIDS. The initial bill included a total of $474 million for international efforts to fight AIDS. The foreign aid bill, which will be voted on later Tuesday by the House, also fully funds the administration's requests for military and economic assistance to Israel, Egypt and Jordan, including an increase of $60 million in military assistance to Israel for a total of $2.04 billion. Source: Reuters Related Articles & Web Site: Colombia Drug War News U.N. Wants Audit of Colombia Cocaine Spraying Lawmakers Shrink From Foreign Drug War Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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Comment #9 posted by kaptinemo on July 25, 2001 at 04:24:25 PT:
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| Notice how all of a sudden it's "Colombian drugs" Not terribly subtle, but it works: "Them damn' Co-lumbyans! They's trying to kill owah chil-drun wit' dem druhgs of theahs! Le's go whup up on 'em!" By associating the nation with the hated substance, the trigger is set for nationalistic emotionalism which can usually be counted upon to cause the higher reasoning abilities of most people to be short-circuited by the more visceral 'reasoning' of "do unto others...and split". [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #8 posted by kaptinemo on July 25, 2001 at 04:10:50 PT:
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| For in years to come, historians will shake their heads and wonder how the soon-to-be bloodbath got started. They'll ask each other: "At what point could it have been avoided? At what date and time could a decision have been made to back away from the abyss?" As so often happens, the actual date and time will be lost in the hurly-burly of events streaming out of control. But someday, the question will be asked...by the survivors, or those lucky enough not to have been directly affected. Or those who lost loved ones in this rank insanity. Somewhere Santayana is shaking his head, sadly; they never learn, so they keep making the same...damned...mistakes. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #7 posted by Rambler on July 24, 2001 at 21:32:15 PT |
| No one knows what's happening until after it has happened [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #6 posted by legalizeit on July 24, 2001 at 21:26:51 PT |
| >Democrats, led by Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern, unsuccessfully tried to cut $100 million in military aid and shift it to children's health programs Heh heh... it's all for the children unless it means actually sending money to help the children... what a bunch of pathetic hypocrites. >The money also would pay for expanded counternarcotics aid to Colombia's neighbors, which have faced spillover effects from the trafficking by Colombian drug lords who produce almost all of the cocaine sold in the United States. All a direct result of prohibition! The failed Amerikan drug policies have completely destroyed Colombia and bred corruption and mayhem all throughout Latin America. How do they think they're going to fix it just by sending more soldiers there and poisoning the people and their crops? [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #5 posted by dddd on July 24, 2001 at 20:34:03 PT |
| "This year's money would pay for programs to increase the Andean nation's legitimate economic development and judicial reform, as well as eradicate and replace the coca crop." ...Astonishing!!...check out the wording here,,,,,,;; "legitimate economic development and judicial reform, as well as eradicate and replace the coca crop." Since when did our government become the "judicial reformer"???WHAT?.....this goes off the edge of the
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| Comment #4 posted by jAHn on July 24, 2001 at 19:56:41 PT |
| That us "citizens" tolerate living in a police state. Legislature like this wouldn't go far if we had a meeting ground in each state to discuss what US citizens would like OUR (s)elected officials to prioritize and so forth. In an era where Telecommunications have "opened many doors to communication" between people of politics, it's a DAMN shame that noone's taking advantage of this. What a bunch of crap we and further generations are going to have to "live" within. Smells like Control. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #3 posted by thinkingman on July 24, 2001 at 19:28:21 PT:
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| Its our demand causing the problem not their supply. Isn't this country still 5 trillion in debt? And they want the luxury of killing people? Show us you know what your doing by paying off the debt and then let's talk about killing people. How about some treatment centers for the broken down alcoholics? Or why don't you just kill them? Oh, you already are. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #2 posted by freedom fighter on July 24, 2001 at 19:05:24 PT |
| Gotta vote them outta of the office.. They are the reason why drug war keeps on trucking.. more children shall die because of their ideology.. ff [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #1 posted by MikeEEEEE on July 24, 2001 at 17:57:06 PT |
| War pigs will do anything for a war. [ Post Comment ] |
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