|
|
| DeWine Backs Administration on Colombia |
|
Posted by FoM on March 25, 2002 at 10:40:24 PT By Jonathan Riskind Source: Columbus Dispatch 
Before leaving Thursday on a four-day swing through Latin America, President Bush stressed the importance of allowing besieged Colombia to use U.S. aid money for more than the war on drugs. He wants Congress to let him steer some of the assistance flowing to Colombia into more general initiatives against the terrorist groups that reap huge profits from the trade in illegal narcotics. Bush has an ally in Republican Sen. Mike DeWine of Ohio, one of the Latin America experts in the Senate and a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. DeWine, who has visited Colombia three times and plans another Latin America trip this year, has been playing a key role in helping the administration formulate its plan for ratcheting up U.S. involvement in Colombia. Look for DeWine to be among the administration's most visible and vocal supporters, as Bush tries to sell Congress on the proposal in the weeks ahead. Helping Colombia only on specific anti-drug initiatives leaves terrorist groups on various sides of the political spectrum in control of large areas of the country, undermining an increasingly fragile democracy that lies perilously close to the Panama Canal. DeWine said that makes Colombia a national-security problem, not just a drug problem. But, looking ahead, he sees the situation as potentially more grave. Osama bin Laden, al- Qaida and their Taliban allies benefited greatly from the drug trade in central Asia, so al-Qaida or some other terrorist group aiming to attack the United States could try to establish a foothold in a destabilized Colombia. "It's a big problem today for the United States. If Osama bin Laden didn't exist, if Sept. 11 never happened, it (Colombia) would still be a huge problem for the United States,'' DeWine said last week. "Could it also be possibly linked to a bin Laden type terrorist organization in the future? Yes, it certainly could. Could it be a breeding ground? Yes it could. The one thing that we have learned, and we keep having to relearn, is that when there are problems in the world, we better try to deal with them before they turn into tragedy.'' Bush has been careful to say that he doesn't intend to commit U.S. troops. But offering advisers, intelligence and equipment is key to halting the drug trade and cutting off the terrorists who reap millions from illegal narcotics, the president said before leaving on his trip to Mexico, El Salvador and Peru. In Peru, he will meet with the outgoing president of Colombia, Andres Pastrana. "We have no interest in committing ground troops, but we do want to help them, and we'll do so,'' Bush said Wednesday, during an interview with a group of Latin American journalists. Indeed, the danger in the region was underscored when a car bomb exploded outside the U.S. Embassy in Lima, Peru, later that day. Already, Bush has asked that more money be spent in Colombia, requesting, in his proposed 2003 budget, more than $500 million in security aid to that country, up from about $388 million this year. Ari Fleischer, Bush's spokesman, said last week that the effort to combat Colombian terrorists is different from going after al-Qaida, because the Colombians lack a "global reach.'' Nonetheless, "it is clearly a significant problem for the government of Colombia and for the region.'' DeWine agrees that the U.S. effort should stop short of turning U.S. troops loose in Colombia. But, he said, Americans also should know that unless more is done to fight the drug trade and the drug lords masquerading as insurgent revolutionaries, bin Laden-type global terror eventually could take root in this country's back yard. "If there's a vicious dog out there, snarling and getting ready to bite, you better try to either restrain or kill it before it does something to you,'' DeWine said. Source: Columbus Dispatch (OH) Related Articles & Web Site: Colombia Drug War News Plan to Lift Limits on Past Colombia Aid Direct U.S. Aid to Colombia Likely US Seeks to Protect Colombia Pipeline Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
 |
| Comment #10 posted by Jose Melendez on March 27, 2002 at 08:38:09 PT |
| from: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n577/a09.html?11259TOLEDO: Aside from the fact that President Bush has very good taste with regard to color in ties, he's also taller than I am. On this issue of military expenditure, we discussed it with him. And here, I want to strike a difference between military expenses for armed conflicts between countries and military expenditures for defense against terrorism and drug trafficking. Because these are two separate issues. I think that there is a major challenge in the world in order to survive in this globalized and savagely competitive world we live in. We need to invest more in the minds of our people. Basically, what this means is investing more in nutrition, health, education, and justice for the poor. We won't be able to deal with the challenges of this globalized world, unless we invest in the knowledge of our societies. And the question immediately arises, and obviously so, in an economy that is growing and overcoming recession, where do you get the money to invest in nutrition, health, and education? Well, we've made an appeal to countries at the bilateral level, and there the United States has played a very generous role at the onor's table in Madrid. And I want to publicly express my appreciation, Mr. President. There has been debt conversion, external bilateral debt swap for social investment. And there, we have been able to get a commitment of about $1 illion. This is one way to establish a financial space to invest in health, nutrition, and education. The other thing is that I believe that it makes no sense in this world, as long as we have a country with 54 percent of Peruvians who live below the poverty line, or 16 percent who live below the dire poverty line - when I was born, the very first minute of my life, when I opened my eyes, I saw the face of dire poverty. I know what this means. That's why I am convinced that we can make an effort to reduce military spending, to reorient those resources toward investment and justice and education and health. Because the defense of a country no longer depends on how many tanks or ships or aircraft we have. It's all about how strong our economy is, how educated our people are. And please, excuse me for being so passionate on this subject, but there is absolutely no doubt on this. And the empirical evidence is very harsh with regard to the return on investment on education and health and nutrition for our people. And here, once again, we have another point of coincidence that leads us down the same path together. I conveyed something that's very close to my heart with regard to the ( inaudible ) education program, and I asked our friend to support us on this. And I will be going to New York, and I'm going to talk to Mr. Bill Gates to try to promote the ( inaudible ) project even more. But if we reduce military spending, we're going to have some financial leeway to reorient this money toward the poor who want to overcome poverty, who want freedom. And we will be able to deal with the challenges of the future even better. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #9 posted by Jose Melendez on March 26, 2002 at 09:54:30 PT |
| from: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n568/a02.html?397 Part II of a Narco News Investigative Report On March 19th, the day that Narco News and the March 25th issue of Newsweek published stories reporting the narco-history of Colombian presidential candidate Alvaro Uribe ( See Narco-Candidate in Colombia, March 19, 2002 and "I Have Been Honorable," the Newsweek interview with Uribe, March 25, 2002 ), a presidential debate was held in Bogota with the five candidates and a panel of journalists. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #8 posted by Jose Melendez on March 26, 2002 at 06:28:53 PT |
| Water mixes with oil. Just add soap. From: Generally, oil and water do not mix. Water is a polar molecule, which means that it has a slight charge at each end. Because of these charges, water molecules tend to stick to each other. It will also stick to other polar chemicals, such as alcohol. You can easily mix water and alcohol because they are polar. http://www.hemphasis.com/hcfr/hcfr1099.htm Harrelson and other hemp proponents note that this is not the first time the DEA has tried to block the sale of hemp products. In August 1999, U.S. Customs officials, on the advice of the DEA, seized a shipment of hemp birdseed from Canada because it contained traces of THC. The shipment was released two months later. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #7 posted by MikeEEEEE on March 25, 2002 at 21:19:30 PT |
| The more and more I read the news about the Bush corp. the more I'm convinced that water (hemp) doesn't mix with oil. It was never about what'$ right, and as the news implies, we could really tru$t these guys (sarcastic grin).
Bush Turns Over Energy Documents But most of the papers, released in response to court orders, were blanked out and provided little substantive information. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&u=/ap/20020326/ap_on_go_pr_wh/cheney_energy_3 [ Post Comment ] |
|
Comment #6 posted by kaptinemo on March 25, 2002 at 17:31:09 PT:
|
| Bush has an ally in Republican Sen. Mike DeWine of Ohio, one of the Latin America experts in the Senate and a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. DeWine, who has visited Colombia three times and plans another Latin America trip this year... God save us from 'shake-and-bake' experts. 22 years ago, when I was in college, I was lucky enough to have a junior professor who had actually lived - not 'visited', not 'studied', but lived - in a tiny town in Brazillian Amazonia called "Hubiataba"(sp?). He was a Peace Corps volunteer, ate what they ate, lived where they lived, swatted blood-drinking bugs like they did, risked his life on a weekly basis as many of the locals did. And the stories of people's lives that he wound into the curriculum were both incredible...and incredibly heartbreaking. To hear him talk, the travails of those people were hard enough; we are adding to the misery with our DrugWar madness. It always makes me think: we have people making policy based upon their 'credentials' as 'experts'...when many can't even speak the colloquial language of the area they presume to be experts of. On the basis of this ignorance, policies are formed which create ever more strife and turmoil. More damage is done by ostensibly well-meaning people, when the reality is that all too often, the situation becomes even more untenable. All for the 'best of reasons...and 'for their own good', of course. But Mr. DeWine and his ilk don't have to live with the aftermath... [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #5 posted by goneposthole on March 25, 2002 at 16:39:00 PT |
| The violent overthrow or alteration of an existing government by a small group. 'shadow government'... 9/11... anthrax...nuclear threats... [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #4 posted by Jose Melendez on March 25, 2002 at 11:45:08 PT |
| http://wire.ap.org/?SLUG=AFGHAN%2dUS%2dMILITARY [ Post Comment ] |
|
Comment #3 posted by Jose Melendez on March 25, 2002 at 11:42:56 PT:
|
Americans also should know that unless more is done to fight the drug trade and the drug lords masquerading as insurgent revolutionaries, bin Laden-type global terror eventually could take root in this country's back yard.FroM: http://wire.ap.org/?SLUG=AFGHAN%2dUS%2dMILITARY ``One of our missions has been to ensure that Afghanistan is not a safe haven for terrorists,'' said (chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Richard B.) Myers. ``This assistance we're going to provide ... is directly part of that mission.'' From: "There appears to be few Savages yet on these frontiers, but every tree is become an Indian for the terrified inhabitant."see also:> http://www.nativeweb.org/pages/legal/amherst/lord_jeff.html and: [ Post Comment ] |
|
Comment #2 posted by Jose Melendez on March 25, 2002 at 11:19:38 PT:
|
| "If there's a vicious dog out there, snarling and getting ready to bite, you better try to either restrain or kill it before it does something to you,'' DeWine said. That sounded very familiar, so I racked my brain, remembered the crime against humanity that started America, and did a search: From: (snipped) [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #1 posted by Dark Star on March 25, 2002 at 10:50:10 PT |
| "undermining an increasingly fragile democracy that lies perilously close to the Panama Canal" There is a little impassable number inbetween called the Darien Gap, so unless the FARC is going to ferry troops in one of those Andean submarines, there seems to be little threat on the canal. [ Post Comment ] |
| Post Comment |  |
 |  |
