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| Official: No Combat Role in Colombia |
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Posted by FoM on April 24, 2002 at 18:02:51 PT By Carolyn Skorneck, Associated Press Source: Associated Press 
A State Department official assured senators Wednesday that U.S. soldiers will not be fighting Colombian rebels even if Congress lets Colombia use anti-drug helicopters and other equipment to battle the insurgents. ''Not one of us here is talking about U.S. troops in a combat role,'' said Marc Grossman, undersecretary of state for political affairs. ''The Colombians need to take the brunt of this, but we need to be there to help them.'' The Bush administration has no intention of exceeding the limits of 400 U.S. military trainers and 400 civilian contractors that were set to join in Colombian President Andres Pastrana's anti-drug Plan Colombia, Grossman told the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere. Also, the administration ''will not stop our human rights vetting of Colombian military units receiving U.S. assistance,'' Separately, other U.S. officials told a House panel they have no evidence tying the Irish Republican Army to international drug trafficking or Colombian terrorists, even as a congressional report accused the IRA of training rebels in explosives technology. Sen. Chris Dodd, the Senate subcommittee chairman, said the United States must fulfill its pledge to aid Colombia in its ''hour of crisis a crisis that has profound implications for institutions of democracy in Colombia and throughout the hemisphere.'' Still, Dodd, D-Conn., asked for a better explanation of what the administration hopes to accomplish by loosening restrictions on U.S. assistance. ''What we seek is flexibility that would enable Colombia to use U.S.-provided helicopters and the counter-drug brigade from Plan Colombia to fight terrorism some of the time as needed,'' Grossman said. That unit, trained by U.S. officers, has shown ''impressive results'' in fighting drugs, said Army Maj. Gen. Gary Speer, acting commander in chief of the Southern Command. He noted that the brigade has not been accused of human rights abuses. Colombia's three main rebel groups the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC; the National Liberation Army of Colombia, ELN; and the United Self-Defense Group of Colombia, AUC are on the State Department's list of foreign terrorist organizations. All three are self-financed through drug trafficking, Speer said. The AUC, a right-wing paramilitary group, aims to destroy the FARC and the ELN, both leftist guerrilla armies. Dodd said the FARC recently had an estimated 17,000 members, while AUC had 11,000. But support for the AUC has increased as FARC-sponsored violence grew, he said. ''When people are frightened, they will grasp onto whatever offers some security,'' Dodd said. Colombia's military now views the AUC as a greater threat than the FARC or the ELN, Speer said. ''The people in Colombia look at the AUC as doing something.'' Said Dodd: ''I have an eerie feeling you're going to be back here at this table next year telling me it's not getting better, it's getting worse,'' with the AUC growing to 18,000 people. A report Wednesday from the House International Relations Committee's Republican majority contends the IRA and the FARC have had well-established links since at least 1998. Since up to 15 IRA members, among them senior weapons experts and technicians, have visited the rebel-held part of Colombia, the FARC has begun employing IRA-style car bombs and mortars with devastating effect, the committee report said. But Drug Enforcement Administration chief Asa Hutchinson and Mark F. Wong, the State Department's acting coordinator for counterterrorism, said there was no evidence tying the IRA to drug trafficking or Colombian terrorists. They could not say if three IRA suspects arrested in Colombia last August while traveling on phony passports were acting on their own or at the direction of IRA superiors. Gen. Fernando Tapias, chairman of the joint chiefs of Colombia's armed forces, said Wednesday he had ''no formal knowledge linking these individuals to the high command of the IRA.'' Source: Associated Press Related Articles & Web Site: Colombia Drug War News Drug Czar Urges Action on Andean Trade Bill The Other Drug War Rethink Colombian Drug War Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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| Comment #4 posted by FoM on April 24, 2002 at 22:44:48 PT |
| Official: No Combat Role in Colombia YET! [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #3 posted by dddd on April 24, 2002 at 21:58:54 PT |
| ..."A State Department official assured senators Wednesday that U.S. soldiers will not be fighting
Colombian rebels even if Congress lets Colombia use anti-drug helicopters and other
equipment to battle the insurgents. "... . ..How tragicly silly...as if the assurance of no "US soldiers", made a difference.!!!.. This is a classical piece of AP/government propaganda..... ......I mean,,just think about it....Who needs troops when you have hi-tech helicopter gunships to decimate entire villages in the same way Isreal did in Jenin?... Does anyone think there will be any accountability for what goes on with the US weapons that us US taxpaying Sheeple have funded?!!! ..This will all be called part of "The War on Terror" !!.. This War on Terror is an astonishing,and disgusting piece of history in the making!....If there's anyone left alive to record this bizarre era,,it will be looked back on with sheer disgust! ....on a brighter note,,,did anyone notice the latest "alert",for supermarkets and shopping centers that was issued today?.. I found it to be extremely dazzling in its nebulousness!..Apparently,,some Al-Quieda guy ,who they had in custody,mentioned that there might be a terror attack on a supermarket or mall... ..What is this????? ..This is like some cheap episode of Speed Racer,,or Johnny Quest!!!,,,,and the scariest part,,is that sheeple are sucking it up,,as if it was credible information!.........This is the equivelent of issuing a warning that you may not be safe from getting killed by crazy people!....,,,if you noticed the "news" here in LA,,,they had interviews with idiot shoppers,who were saying things like,;"..yes,,I like to know if there is a danger of terrorism."....... ...Hello!!!.....Reality Check!..... Time to wake fucking UP!... ..Is there someone out there who thinks that this "news", from the national media is not alarming proof,and verification of the actuality,,and success of a propaganda machine,,run by the government,,then let me know!.. ...Perhaps it's already obvious to everyone?,,and I am just a bigmouth idiot clown,,re-stating the obvious. ..but when I see national news that reports a "terror attack warning",,,,for "supermarkets and shopping centers",,, and there are no further details,,other than to say that the source was an "Al-Quieda member",,in custody! ..Good fuckin' Grief! ...That's like callin' up goneposthole, Patrick,or MikeEEEE,,and sayin',,"Hey,, be on the alert because someone told us you might win the lottery soon".......... .. ..anyway,,this whole "terror attack" alert has about as much crediblity as Publishers Clearing House!,, yet,,it gets national media coverage!.... .somethin' aint right.............ravin' and ramblin'!...dddd [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #2 posted by SoberStoner on April 24, 2002 at 21:51:13 PT:
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| Don't be surprised to see American 'peacekeeping' units stalking around in a jungle again real soon. Then when we realize we cant win this civil war either, it will be time to test how much the American public will stand by using 'tactical' nukes to bomb the 'terrorists' who are also 'drug dealers'. This is our Vietnam. And just like Vietnam, the 'good guys' will be on the losing side. Anytime a policy tries to get pushed through without debate, you can almost guarantee that it is a bad policy. Look at the "Patriot Act" or the hemp food ban. They know if the public actually knew about this stuff, there would be riots in the streets and the amrican public must just wake up and see how utterly misguided our (s)elected officials are. You'll also notice that there was another 'terrorist' alert issued today as well so this could slide by unnoticed. What crap. SS [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #1 posted by kaptinemo on April 24, 2002 at 18:16:22 PT:
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| Invest in the companies that make those rubberized, zippered body bags. You can expect to see a 'return' from your 'investment' very shortly. God, will the American people ever effin' wake up? [ Post Comment ] |
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