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| Rise in Coca Production Disappoints White House |
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Posted by FoM on March 08, 2002 at 08:36:59 PT By George Gedda, Associated Press Source: Associated Press 
Despite intensified eradication, coca production in Colombia increased by about 25 percent last year, the Bush administration said, contradicting Colombian government claims of a significant decline. In releasing the figures Thursday, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy admitted that the results of the escalating effort were less than it had hoped for. The gloomy assessment contrasted sharply with the announcement last week by Colombian Justice Minister Romulo Gonzalez that his figures showed a decline in coca production by about 16 percent from 392,000 acres to 336,000 acres between August 2000 and December 2001. He said that trend was a ''clear demonstration'' the U.S.-backed eradication campaign was working. The White House statement attributed part of its finding of an increase to the inclusion of a coca growing area not surveyed in 2000 because of cloud cover. It also said some of the coca included in the estimate was later eradicated by spray planes. Based on satellite imagery, the coca crop was reported to be 417,430 acres last year, 82,992 more than in 2000, the statement said. Last week, the State Department said nearly twice as many acres were sprayed last year compared with 2000. Colombia's huge coca crop has serious implications both for that country and for the United States. Earnings from coca the raw material for cocaine support insurgencies of the left and the right in Colombia that have devastated the country for years. And cocaine addicts in the United States rely almost exclusively on imports from Colombia to maintain their habit, Colombia serving as the largest producer and distributor of coca in the world. The White House statement said the figures ''underscore the pervasiveness of cultivation and trafficking in Colombia; the magnitude and complexity of Colombia's interlocking security, drug control, and economic challenges; and the need for sustained U.S. engagement.'' It said the security environment in Colombian drug cultivation regions has made it difficult to implement counterdrug programs. ''We will continue to work with the government of Colombia to achieve our mutual objectives of strengthening democracy, eliminating drug trafficking, and enforcing the rule of law,'' the statement added. Part of the increase occurred in a huge zone that President Andres Pastrana ceded to leftist FARC guerrillas in 1998 in hopes of spurring peace talks. Pastrana called off the initiative two weeks ago, complaining that the rebels, instead of using the Switzerland-sized area to promote peace, were using it for military purposes and for the coca trade. The Clinton administration undertook a major commitment to curb illicit narcotics flows from Colombia in 2000. Congress approved $1.3 billion in assistance, mostly for helicopters destined for Colombia's military. Officials cautioned at the time that the process would take time but the White House statement suggested that progress has been slower than expected. Source: Associated Press Related Articles & Web Site: Colombia Drug War News House Approves Resolution Calling For More Aid Hill Stance on Colombia Aid Shifts Plan Colombia: This Will Be Worse Than Vietnam Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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Comment #3 posted by overtoke on March 08, 2002 at 13:41:29 PT:
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| All those quoted numbers can be directly tied to deforestation as well. Based on satellite imagery, the coca crop was reported to be 417,430 acres last year, 82,992 more than in 2000, the statement said. Last week, the State Department said nearly twice as many acres were sprayed last year compared with 2000 They admit to poisoning (doubled!!). They admit 82,992 additional acres were no longer rain forest, but coca plantations instead. This pigs also continue to think that BECAUSE there is a SUPPLY there is a DEMAND... [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #2 posted by E_Johnson on March 08, 2002 at 10:06:08 PT |
| This is surreal. Which party understands economics? It was always supposed to be the Republican Party, supposedly, that understood that market forces are natural forces that come to life all on their own in the human community. Maybe conservative Christians don't understand that. Well there is a lot of tension in the Bible between God and money. You can decide to value morality and spirituality over money in your own life, but you can't decide to completely control an economy on purely moral or spiritual principles. It doesn't really work, and we see here that there are a lot of bad consequences in the not working part. The White House statement said the figures ''underscore the pervasiveness of cultivation and trafficking in Colombia; the magnitude and complexity of Colombia's interlocking security, drug control, and economic challenges; and the need for sustained U.S. engagement.' We're going to hook the careers of a new generation of young Americans into this doomed war. We're going to build a huge economic dependency around a program that we know is not working, because it attempts a job that cannot be done - control a force that not even the Communists could control, with all of the repressive measures that they employed in their efforts to control it. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #1 posted by letsgetfree on March 08, 2002 at 10:01:06 PT |
| Based on satellite imagery, the coca crop was reported to be 417,430 acres last year, 82,992 more than in 2000, the statement said. Last week, the State Department said nearly twice as many acres were sprayed last year compared with 2000. well if it's going this good after only 2 years then looks like the war on drugs end is in sight! Give me a break! Columbia is a stratigic country that not only holds some of that black gold the USA is addicted to, but also links northern and southern hemispheres togther, and has access to both oceans, meaning free trade, ie american control of trade, and making columbia a very valuble country to US interests. the american empire is not made up of colonies but companies, global domination is already here. We must do something to save the planet and ourselves, but it might be too late [ Post Comment ] |
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