|
|
| U.S. Delegation To Support Colombia |
|
Posted by FoM on August 22, 2001 at 18:05:22 PT By George Gedda, Associated Press Writer Source: Associated Press 
The State Department announced Wednesday a high-level U.S. delegation will visit Colombia next week to underscore American support in Colombia's struggle against drug traffickers and rebels. The announcement came after a senior Defense Department official, Peter Rodman, raised doubts about whether the United States is on the right course with its Colombian policies. "I think we as a country are not quite sure where we are heading," Rodman, assistant defense secretary for international security affairs, told reporters Tuesday. Asked about Rodman's comments, State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said the Bush administration has a "clear policy toward Colombia, which is to support democracy, combat narcotics trafficking, and support social and economic development." The U.S. delegation for the Aug. 29-31 visit will be led by the State Department's third-ranking official, Marc Grossman. He will be joined by officials from the National Security Council, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Department of Justice and the Department of Defense. The delegation will hold talks in Bogota and also visit the Tres Equinas jungle military base which serves as the nerve center for the U.S. backed counter-drug effort in Colombia. The group will meet with President Andres Pastrana, whose efforts to bring peace to Colombia have made little headway. Talks with the smaller of two leftist rebel groups broke off earlier this month. Progress in discussions with the larger FARC guerrilla group are at an impasse. Another target of Colombia's embattled military is a rightist paramilitary force. Reeker reacted sharply Wednesday to reported links between the FARC and three members of the Irish Republican Army, who have been arrested in Colombia and charged under a terrorism law. An administration official, asking not to be identified, said one of the three, James Monaghan, is a top explosives and equipment expert. A FARC commander said Wednesday the three were in Colombia to exchange opinions and not to teach terror. Rodman said the administration is having difficulty reaching a consensus on Colombian policy. "I think there is a consensus that there's an important American interest," he said, "but there's not necessarily a consensus about what the right way to serve that interest is." He said many in Congress are concerned about whether countering the flow of narcotics should be the main U.S. goal, or whether there is "some wider stake we may have in the survival of a friendly democratic government." The State Department also released an unclassified cable from the U.S. Embassy in Bogota describing a meeting between embassy officials and four Colombian policemen who were released by the FARC in June as part of a prisoner exchange. "All gave vivid descriptions of the terror of being captured, the inhumane conditions in the prison camps and the trauma of readjusting to freedom after three years of psychological abuses in FARC prison camps," said the cable, signed by U.S. Ambassador Anne Patterson. At the time of the policemen's release, the cable said, the FARC staged a media show that was intended to repair the group's tarnished image and gain public approval. "Instead, the barbaric treatment of these prisoners undercut this effort," the cable said. A State Department official said the former prisoners have not gone public in Colombia with their story because the Colombian police has been concerned about their security. Source: Associated Press Related Articles & Web Site: Colombia Drug War News U.S. Role in Colombia Grows More Dubious Colombia Increases Military's Powers Plan Colombia: Latest U.S. Drug War Failure Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
 |
| Comment #1 posted by dddd on August 23, 2001 at 06:26:07 PT |
| Like some cheap sci-fi novel,the evil empires ministry of propaganda keeps pumpin' out this stuff like a butt whos owner had a cheap seafood dinner in Tijuana last nite.
[ Post Comment ] |
| Post Comment |  |
 |  |