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| Colombia Off the Back Burner |
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Posted by CN Staff on May 12, 2002 at 21:14:19 PT By Jackson Diehl Source: Washington Post 
The Bush administration hoped to choose its fights in the war on terrorism, but more and more the fights are choosing it. First the Israel-Arab conflict swamped the unfocused beginnings of its campaign against Iraq. Now comes Colombia, where a bloody and complex war matching multiple groups of guerrillas and terrorists is about to escalate to an agenda-altering level.Though its economies have stalled and its politics have grown volatile, Bush has mostly ignored Latin America. Colombia finally may change the pattern. War between an overmatched government and some 17,000 cocaine-funded left-wing guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) has widened since the collapse of peace negotiations in February. Meanwhile, a right-wing paramilitary movement with at least 8,000 fighters is pounding the FARC and taking over large swaths of both the drug trade and the country. Both movements rely heavily on the tools of terrorism, from kidnappings and assassinations of political figures to car bombings and massacres of civilians. For three years Colombia tried and failed to negotiate with its extremists. Now it is about to get its Ariel Sharon. The overwhelming favorite in presidential elections two weeks from now is Alvaro Uribe, a 49-year-old former state governor who promises to wage a war without quarter against both the FARC and the rightist United Self-Defense Forces (AUC). He says he will double the size of both the army and police, create commando teams to root the terrorists and drug traffickers out of Colombia's vast jungles and recruit hundreds of thousands of civilians for security squads. All of this, of course, will require more help from the United States, which already has invested more than $2 billion in Colombia during the past several years. "We need you guys," says Francisco Santos, Uribe's vice presidential candidate. "I know you have big problems in the Middle East and Afghanistan, but this is the backyard. And the backyard is on fire." Santos, who passed through Washington last week, looks and speaks like the urbane, bespectacled journalist he was until a few weeks ago. His family, owners of El Tiempo, Colombia's premier newspaper, are still simmering over his decision to go into politics. But the 39-year-old child of the elite has not had the usual life of a pampered columnist. A decade ago he was abducted by the gang of cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar, an experience that inspired him to found a mass movement against lawlessness and violence. Two years ago he was driven into exile in Spain by threats from the FARC. Now, when not abroad, he lives "jailed in a bunker," a bulletproof hotel room in Bogota. Uribe, who survived an assassination attempt last month, also has retreated from the streets. The state of Colombian democracy might be summed up like this: The FARC holds hostage one of the four other presidential candidates, five members of Congress, 11 state legislators and a provincial governor. The AUC meanwhile claims to have elected dozens of candidates in the congressional elections held in March and has killed a few it didn't like. That level of chaos would have been enough on its own to swing Colombian politics to the right. But Sept. 11 also has changed the international frame of reference for this decades-old conflict, just as it has for the Arabs and Israelis. European governments once looked benignly and even supportively on the FARC, which was imagined to be a social reform movement. Last week the reformers launched a bomb into a village church, killing more than 115 civilians. FARC's foreign supporters are melting away. Before this year, too, the consensus in Washington was that Colombia's war was a quagmire, better finessed than fought. Now, despite lingering opposition from Sen. Patrick Leahy and a few other Democrats, Congress seems likely to approve the Bush administration's move to begin openly supporting the Colombian army against the guerrillas, rather than trying to limit aid to anti-drug operations. "We don't need your troops," said Santos. "But we need help with intelligence, with communications, with training, with weapons -- everything you can give us." The question about Colombia, as with the other longstanding conflicts that now would huddle beneath America's anti-terrorism umbrella, is whether the good-vs.-evil paradigm applies. Is this another case in which terrorism is the only issue and force the only option, or does that formula dangerously distort a complex problem? Violence, after all, has wracked the Colombian countryside for more than 75 years, a product of poverty, inequality and the state's chronic weakness. The FARC's four-decade old insurgency grew out of an earlier civil war. Santos, for one, doesn't pretend the problem is simple. Probably, he says, an Uribe government won't be able to end the trouble entirely. Eventually a negotiated settlement will be necessary. Still, the new logic of counterterrorism offers one valuable principle for Colombia: People who traffic in cocaine and car bombs can't be bargained with until they conclude that they cannot succeed with those instruments. For now, the extremists "have no incentive to settle, because they think they can win militarily," Santos said. "We need to show them that they won't. They need to feel the heat." Soon they will, as will the Colombians who endure their reprisals. "The first year is going to be terrible, there will be so much terrorism," predicts the journalist-turned-statesman. "We are going to have to say to the public, 'Hold on.' " The message for the Bush administration could be as simple: Get ready. Source: Washington Post (DC) Related Articles & Web Site: Colombia Drug War News Colombia Drug Officer Removed as US Aid Vanishes No Sanctuary From Colombian War The Colombia Quandary - Patrick Leahy Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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| Comment #9 posted by Nuevo Mexican on May 13, 2002 at 12:15:33 PT |
| and as accurate as you both are, I'm glad neither of you lose hope in these times. The Fear Factor only works when we buy into it. And that is really what all of these attempts by the Criminal "Bush" Family wants: Control!
But it 'ain't' gonna happen! Yes it is happening to some extent, but bad stuff is always happening, we just don't have our attention focused on by the medias' "All Terror, All The Time" approach. Wanna raise funds for your favorite cause, hold a TV shoot where people pay $10 to shoot their tv set, along side hundreds of other tv shooters. Would it make the news? Only on the Internet! It was a regular event where I live, behind Freds' Restaraunt, until he moved to Asia to help the oppressed in that area. Good man, that Fred!
'Shoot your TV today, and set an positive example for the younger generation!"
Remember: "if it Bleeds, it leads! So use ketchup or something red to get the medias' attention! Plugged in, tuned to Faux News and with pretzel boy giving a snooze conference!
What a theraputic release for Americans who love democracy and freedom!
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| Comment #8 posted by Zero_G on May 13, 2002 at 11:17:32 PT |
| Bush has mostly ignored Latin America. John Negroponte, Otto Reich, Elliot Abrhams, John Poindexter are all known for experience in Reagan's Contra-Arms-Drugs schemes, and all are now employed in the BushIIT Administration. Ignored indeed... Fnord Zero G. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #7 posted by Jose Melendez on May 13, 2002 at 09:18:58 PT:
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| I hope Secretary of State Colin Powell was on the right side of this...
From: http://commondreams.org/headlines02/0513-03.htm Published on Monday, May 13, 2002 in the Guardian of London OPEC Chief Warned Chavez About Coupby Greg PalastThe Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, had advance warning of last month's coup attempt against him from the secretary general of OPEC, Ali Rodriguez, allowing him to prepare an extraordinary plan which saved both his government and his life, an investigation has revealed. Mr Rodriguez, who is Venezuelan and a former leftwing guerrilla, telephoned Mr Chavez from the Vienna headquarters of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, of which Venezuela is an important member, several days before the attempted overthrow in April. He said OPEC had learned that some Arab countries, later revealed to be Libya and Iraq, planned to call for a new oil embargo against the United States because of its support for Israel. The OPEC chief warned Mr Chavez that the US would prod a long-simmering coup into action to break any embargo threat. It was likely to act on April 11, the day a general strike was due to start. It was Venezuela which shattered the oil embargo of 1973 by replacing Arab oil with its own huge reserves. The warning - revealed by a Newsnight investigation to be shown on BBC2 tonight - explains the swift and safe return of Mr Chavez to power within two days of his April 12 capture by military officers under the direction of the coup leader, Pedro Carmona. Until now, it was unclear why Mr Carmona - who had declared himself president - and the military chiefs who backed the coup surrendered without firing a shot. The answer to the mystery, Newsnight was told by a Chavez insider, is that several hundred pro-Chavez troops were hidden in secret corridors under Miraflores, the presidential palace. Juan Barreto, a leader of Mr Chavez's party in the national assembly, was with Mr Chavez when he was under siege. Mr Barreto said that Jose Baduel, chief of the paratroop division loyal to Mr Chavez, had waited until Mr Carmona was inside Miraflores. Mr Baduel then phoned Mr Carmona to tell him that, with troops virtually under his chair, he was as much a hostage as Mr Chavez. He gave Mr Carmona 24 hours to return Mr Chavez alive. Escape from Miraflores was impossible for Mr Carmona. The building was surrounded by hundreds of thousands of pro-Chavez demonstrators who, alerted by a sympathetic foreign affairs minister, had marched on it from the Ranchos, the poorest barrios. Mr Chavez told Newsnight that, after receiving the warning from OPEC, he had hoped to stave off the coup entirely by issuing a statement to mollify the Bush administration. He pledged that Venezuela would neither join nor tolerate a renewed oil embargo. But Mr Chavez had already incurred America's wrath by slashing Venezuelan oil output and rebuilding OPEC, causing oil prices to nearly double to over $20 a barrel. His opponents had made it clear that they would not abide by OPEC production limits and would reverse his plan to double the royalties charged to foreign oil companies in Venezuela, principally the US petroleum giant Exxon-Mobil. The US government's panic over the calls for an oil embargo, made public by Iraq and Libya on April 8 and 9, also explains what Venezuelans see as the state department's ill-concealed and clumsy support for the coup attempt. Mr Chavez told Newsnight: "I have written proof of the time of the entries and exits of two US military officers into the headquarters of the coup plotters - their names, whom they met with, what they said - proof on video and on still photographs." Last month the Guardian reported a former US intelligence officer's claims that the US had been considering a coup to overthrow the Venezuelan president for nearly a year. Newsnight is on BBC2 at 10.30pm © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002 ### [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #6 posted by letsgetfree on May 13, 2002 at 08:52:08 PT |
| it is very scary days. the empire is making power moves at home and abroad. The blind sheeple lose themselves in the plastic culture that has been created for their consumption. And the ones who do see what is going on feel so helpless to stop this that they fall into depression/anger about the state of things....why bother with anything in this world? Nobody else cares why should I? Venezuela was a possitive message.....the poor can take back whats theirs. the revolution CANNOT start in the west...too many poor/middle class people who hope to be rich. They accept the system because they hope to move to the top of it....the amerikan dream. So we are left with the other 80% of the world as our hope to take down this empire. but how do you organize these masses of people? Can you? and if so then what? The rich wont give up what they believe, as all upper classes have, is their god given right to live the way they do. We are all responsible for this mess, but the future is not hopless. Rome fell apart fast and so can The Corporate States of Amerika Lets wake up Lets Get Free [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #5 posted by Lehder on May 13, 2002 at 08:42:37 PT |
| Philippines More than 1,000 US troops, including 160 special forces soldiers, are currently in the southern Philippines as part of a six-month “training exercise” targetted at an Abu Sayyaf group, which is holding an American missionary couple, Martin and Gracia Burnham, and a Philippine nurse, Ediborah Yap, on the island of Basilan. No evidence has been provided that Abu Sayyaf has links to Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda organisation....From the outset, the Pentagon has held open the possibility of extending the US mission on Basilan. The exercise has far broader aims than releasing the two Americans. Ever since the US defeat in Vietnam in the 1970s and the loss of its two major military bases in the Philippines in 1992, the US military has been seeking ways to reestablish operations in South East Asia. The “war on terrorism” provides an ideal pretext. http://www.wsws.org/articles/2002/may2002/phil-m13.shtml [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #4 posted by Lehder on May 13, 2002 at 08:28:54 PT |
| Venezuela The Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, had advance warning of last month's coup attempt against him from the secretary general of OPEC, Ali Rodriguez, allowing him to prepare an extraordinary plan which saved both his government and his life....Until now, it was unclear why Mr Carmona - who had declared himself president - and the military chiefs who backed the coup surrendered without firing a shot. The answer to the mystery, Newsnight was told by a Chavez insider, is that several hundred pro-Chavez troops were hidden in secret corridors under Miraflores, the presidential palace....Mr Chavez told Newsnight: "I have written proof of the time of the entries and exits of two US military officers into the headquarters of the coup plotters - their names, whom they met with, what they said - proof on video and on still photographs." http://commondreams.org/headlines02/0513-03.htm Iraq The invasion of Iraq may be sooner than we are being led to believe by the propaganda machine. Among the more telling signals not discussed yet in the mainstream media is the revelation that a number of MASH units are being called up to report for duty in July. These same units will be committed up to a 6 month period from the July date, that is, through the fall congressional elections. Added to this is the increasing reserve call-up of troops and the deployment of more warships to the region, including war games in the coming weeks with India. Further evidence of a push for a late summer/early fall invasion is the churning out of weapons, including the so-called "low-yield" nuclear bunker buster bomb. http://commondreams.org/views02/0507-04.htm Cuba In an apparent bid to derail any move to ease the embargo policy, John Bolton, the State Department’s undersecretary for arms control and international security affairs and one of the most right-wing figures in the administration, earlier this week made unsubstantiated accusations that the Castro government was using Cuba’s advanced biotechnology industry to promote “at least a limited” research and development program on biological weapons. He declared Cuba part of the “axis of evil,” and warned that it could become a “target” of the US war on terrorism. http://www.wsws.org/articles/2002/may2002/cuba-m11.shtml Faux News reported that one hundred suitcase nuclear bombs are possibly in the United States....I have no idea what is going to happen next, nor do I want to know. --goneposthole [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #3 posted by dddd on May 13, 2002 at 07:05:57 PT |
| ....Only an idiot would believe that a police state ,or military occupation could prevent terrorist attacks... No amount of survielance,or restrictive laws can prevent people who are really angry from retaliation.I you are a kid in Afghanistan,or the West Bank,,and your Mom gets accidently blown to bits by an amerikan made bomb,delivered by an amerikan made aircraft,,then "We are sorry for the collateral damage",just dont cut it!...The news portrays the dubya reaction to the 9/11 tragedy,as a glorious and justified maneuver...Perhaps retaliation was appropiate,,but wrecklessly bombing the shit out of Afghanistan was idiotic...It gave the green lite for Isreal to slaughter,and destroy Palestinians.,,,,and now,,the whole thing has spun out of control...There will be further oppressive laws made,in an attempt to "protect" people from "terrorism"...and the empire will continue to be the leader in terror....The empire will continue to cultivate terror from abroad,,and from within!....it aint pretty...dddd [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #2 posted by goneposthole on May 13, 2002 at 06:29:48 PT |
| Warren Buffet, the Sage of Omaha, the Oracle of Omaha has a thirty billion dollar financial stake in the companies in his portfolio. Geico Insurance is one, Fruit of the Loom is another. He also has predicted that we will be nuked sometime between now and fifty years from now. I think he realizes that we have made mistakes with the dealings with the Muslim world and we will have to pay a price. Agree with him or not, I think he is correct. The Muslims or certain factions of them are fed up. They are going to continue to attack and are going to have 'successes'. They are not going to quit today, tomorrow or the next day. I do not look forward to Memorial Day or Independence Day. Faux News reported that one hundred suitcase nuclear bombs are possibly in the United States. The horrific possibilty that they might be detonated all at the same time scares me. It will be over for us, no doubt about it. The most highly trained military on earth may not be able to stop it. Super Power my ass. I do not claim to be a prognosticator or anything of the sort. I have no idea what is going to happen next, nor do I want to know. You'll be out of a job, a home, a car and possibly food and water, if you survive with your life. Hysteria and massive migration will be what you encounter. GET READY. There won't be anymore more lazy, hazy days of Summer. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #1 posted by qqqq on May 13, 2002 at 02:55:08 PT |
| .................US Funded Slaughter,,with Made in USA Weapons!...... "For three years Colombia tried and failed to negotiate with its extremists. Now it is about to get its Ariel Sharon. The overwhelming favorite in presidential elections two weeks from now is Alvaro Uribe...." [ Post Comment ] |
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