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| U.S. Expects a Wider War on Two Fronts in Colombia |
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Posted by FoM on April 28, 2002 at 07:09:01 PT By Christopher Marquis Source: New York Times 
With elections in Colombia a month away, the Bush administration expects the country's next president to take a harder line in the battle against guerrillas and narcotics traffickers and dedicate more resources to the fight, administration officials say.The departure of President Andrés Pastrana, who was thwarted in his main goal of negotiating a peace deal with the rebels, opens the door for a more aggressive leader as Colombians clamor for security, the officials say. The United States is already preparing for a widening war in Colombia, where the government has been battling two leftist insurgencies with ties to drug trafficking and a right-wing paramilitary organization widely accused of human rights abuses tolerated by the Colombian military. The Bush administration has asked Congress to let Colombians use American-trained soldiers and equipment against the guerrillas, arguing that it is not feasible to limit American assistance to the fight against drugs. It was unclear whether the officials were expressing a hope for a tougher fight against the rebels and drug traffickers, or essentially demanding that Colombia commit to the fight. "No amount of additional assistance will be sufficient to turn the tide unless Colombia dedicates more of its own resources to this task and commits decisively to a policy of establishing state authority and effective security for its people," Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said in a written statement to lawmakers this week. Although widely respected for his peace efforts, Mr. Pastrana became a virtual lame duck several months ago as it became apparent that leaders of the main leftist rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, had spurned his offers of negotiation and increased their attacks. When talks finally broke down in February, Mr. Pastrana ordered troops to retake a demilitarized zone he had ceded to the rebels in 1998. Since then, Colombia's presidential campaign has entered its final phase against a backdrop of growing violence. Leftist rebels kidnapped one presidential candidate, Ingrid Betancourt, and her campaign manager; last week a bomb tore into the motorcade of the leading presidential candidate, Álvaro Uribe. Mr. Uribe, a deeply conservative former senator and governor who is far ahead in the polls, was not hurt in the attack. Although he has reduced his public appearances, Mr. Uribe, 49, is unbowed in his hard-line stance toward the rebels, saying he will not support peace talks until they agree to a cease-fire. Mr. Uribe's closest rival, Horacio Serpa, a former interior minister, also takes a tough line toward rebels. Peter W. Rodman, the assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, said Colombians had undergone a "sea change" in their thinking since the hope of talks with the rebels had collapsed. "I think there were a lot of hopes invested in it, and perhaps that was an excuse for not making this a larger military commitment or a commitment of resources," Mr. Rodman said. "Now it seems that the society as a whole has tested that option and found it wanting." Administration officials say the Colombian government has spent $2.6 billion on Mr. Pastrana's anti- narcotics and development strategy, and $426 million on related investments. Mr. Pastrana had pledged to spend $4.5 billion in support of the $7.5 billion plan over five years; the remaining $3 billion is to come from the United States and Europe. Secretary Powell told lawmakers, "After the election, we will be pressing the new leadership to make a more serious commitment of financial resources of the Colombian people and government to this effort." While he declined to make a prediction about the elections on May 26, Secretary Powell added that "just watching the campaigns develop, it seems to me that we're probably going to have a more aggressive leadership in power in Colombia that might be more receptive" to spending more. The United States has provided $1.7 billion in support of the anti- narcotics and development plan and the administration's successor plan, the Andean Regional Initiative. Most of the assistance has been in military aid and training. The administration has so far provided 8 helicopters to the national police and 35 to the Colombian armed forces and trained a counternarcotics battalion that officials say is the most effective fighting unit in Colombia. The administration is currently asking Congress to finance another battalion and provide $98 million to equip Colombian forces to protect the Cano Limón oil pipeline. Rebel attacks on the pipeline shut it down for 240 days last year, costing the government $500 million in lost revenue, officials said. Newshawk: Michael S. Related Articles & Web Site: Colombia Drug War News Colombia Rebels Could Be Target in Terror War Official: No Combat Role in Colombia Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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| Comment #9 posted by Jose Melendez on April 29, 2002 at 11:52:31 PT |
From:"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." [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #8 posted by mayan on April 28, 2002 at 23:54:13 PT |
| Venezuelan...yeah,that's it! [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #7 posted by mayan on April 28, 2002 at 23:51:48 PT |
| American Navy 'Helped Venezuelan Coup':
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,706802,00.html [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #6 posted by dddd on April 28, 2002 at 23:23:21 PT |
| ...I really appreciate the appreciation.,,and the feeling is mutual........... ....yes,,it's MONEY,,,and all the true "evildoers",,are the ones who are in control of it!...Just wait,,I predict that there will be alot of "Enrons",surfacing in the near future....To put it in simple terms,the stock market is little more than a huge sophisticated shell game...I think most "investments",are about as secure as Enron was.. ..Pinky and The Brain was an outstanding cartoon!,,one of my all time favorite recent cartoons....dddd [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #5 posted by SWAMPIE on April 28, 2002 at 22:12:37 PT |
| How right you are!All these SOB's see is MONEYYYYYYYY!!!!!!It is no wonder that the economy is fucked,that we have to bend over to some narco-terrorist-wannabe-preist who would take your first-born male child to enforce the fascist laws that are bought and paid for by the weird and twisted souls of those who wish to rule the world! Have you ever watched"Pinky and the Brain"?How about "Duckman"????All this is about"GLOBAL-DOOMINATION",did I say it right?I am very depressed about the fact that these fools wish to do what I wish them NOT TO DO!!!!I really hate that.I am NOT a hater! peace,SWAMPIE [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #4 posted by Sandino on April 28, 2002 at 22:09:34 PT:
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| A very sad day in Amerikkkan history that should never be forgotten: May 4,1970 Kent State University, Ohio. Take a journey back in time at: http://www.May41970.com [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #3 posted by dddd on April 28, 2002 at 21:42:02 PT |
| ....here's what's going to happen;...The US will install their Colombian puppet pResident in office..... Dont forget,,the shrub administration is highly skilled in installing presidents..... ......The recent botched coup in Venezuela made it rather obvious,that Uncle Sam is quite an oily sleeze-O........ ..Then ,,soon after the new president is "elected" in Colombia,,the bloodbath will begin,as congressional approval is given to use US gunships against the "narco-terrorists"...... Dont forget,,the New Dubya Empire was bought and paid for by Big Oil......Nothing will be allowed to stand in the way!!!..Rebellions are no longer allowed .. Rebels are now considered Terrorists....Paramilitary police troops are now considered normal for "crowd control"....Public dissent of US policies is no longer tolerated.............This is the anniversery of the LA riots,,and I was thinking,,,that I seriously doubt there will ever be another event like that in a US city...Those days are gone,because law enforcement has now been sucessfully militarized in the last ten years..Partially due to the war on drugs,,and now,the war on terror can be used to excuse any form of law enforcement.. ..What it comes down to nowdays,,,,is who gets to define what a "terrorist" is....and if you are labeled a "terrorist",you must surrender,,or you will be KILLED!,and no one will really be able to say anything about it...Isreal has followed the US lead in slaughtering untold thousands of innocent civilians..No one really thinks anything of it when innocent civilians are murdered in cold blood,,as long as they are "suspected terrorists". ..It's sickeningly ironic to see the new holocaust of Palestinians by Isreal.....and think about this,,,,is America "at War"???? . OK,,if you assume we are 'at war',,then who are we at war with?,not a country,,not a organized group of people,,no ,we are "at war", with a THING!.. The world will never be the same....... We are now having the Oil Wars,,soon we will be having the Water Wars..... , .. the end is near!,,,Stay as happy as you can,and try to enjoy these astonishing times!... .This IS World War III...... yes,,believe it or not,,,this is WWIII,,but I doubt it will be called WWIII until it really heats up in a few years from now...........dddd [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #2 posted by E_Johnson on April 28, 2002 at 12:10:03 PT |
| "No amount of additional assistance will be sufficient to turn the tide unless Colombia dedicates more of its own resources to this task and commits decisively to a policy of establishing state authority and effective security for its people," Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said in a written statement to lawmakers this week. And if they don't, then what? The task of establishing state authority can be a delicate one. It is often true that the strongest methods produce the weakest results. I hope Powell's experiences in Vietnam and the Middle East will help him appreciate the possible negative outcomes of deepening US involvement in Colombia. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #1 posted by goneposthole on April 28, 2002 at 08:01:27 PT |
| The 'government' lost in revenue each day that the oil did not flow. How much of that revenue would trickle down to the native inhabitants of the oil rich region of Colombia? I'll give you a possible answer: None of it. Shades of Viet Nam and all of that jolly horsemanure. Viet Nam was a war that was lost on the ground not because we could not vanquish a foe, but because we could not convince the native population of Viet Nam that there lives would change for the better. When US forces would 'liberate' a village of Viet Cong presence, landlords would follow behind and collect exorbitant, obscene rents on land that the tenants farmed. American officers would express their disgust at the practice and knew it was bad for the effort. You cannot win wars supporting corrupt governments. You are gonna lose, history will repeat itself the same way everytime. Life and times were bleak for farmers and rural inhabitants of Viet Nam and, in the end, life and times were bleak for the survivng victims of the Viet Nam War in the US, too. Predatory economics always fails, and, with similar disastrous policies followed in Colombia the same horrific results will be realized there. too. The analogy is valid and It is good to know beforehand. No one is truly benefitting from all of this whatever it is. [ Post Comment ] |
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