cannabisnews.com: Bush Policy in Colombia is Unchanged 





Bush Policy in Colombia is Unchanged 
Posted by FoM on July 27, 2001 at 10:06:24 PT
By Michael Hedges 
Source: Houston Chronicle
The Bush administration has no plan to expand America's anti-drug efforts in Colombia, officials said Thursday, backing away from comments attributed to the U.S. ambassador in Bogotá that drew fire from Congress. U.S. Ambassador to Colombia Anne Patterson on Tuesday described plans to expand America's role in training the Colombian military to battle drug cartels supported by leftist guerrilla groups. 
Patterson was paraphrased by the Associated Press and the Los Angeles Times as saying the United States was weighing a plan to have American military advisers train Colombian soldiers to go after narco-traffickers in several different parts of Colombia. Those comments rattled many in Washington who are sensitive to any suggestion that U.S. efforts in Colombia could expand into a full blown war against guerrilla groups. American Green Berets already have trained 3,000 Colombian army troops, and the United States is spending $1.3 billion for helicopters and other equipment under "Plan Colombia," an effort aimed at eradicating coca leaves and opium poppies in southern Colombia. The drug eradication campaign by those Colombian battalions -- armed with American Black Hawk helicopters and other equipment -- has not yet commenced. But Patterson said the production of drug crops in Colombia had spread across the country, and additional U.S. trained troops might be needed to extend eradication efforts. The State Department insisted Thursday no final decisions had been made to expand training of Colombian forces by American military advisers. "The U.S. policy has not changed. The U.S. government is continually reviewing the situation, but press accounts have inaccurately implied that additional decisions on training have taken place," said a State Department spokesman. "Any such program would only be implemented after consultation with Congress." The U.S. involvement in Colombia so far has been carefully choreographed among the administrations of former President Clinton and President Bush and Congress. But Patterson was quoted Tuesday saying, "We don't think there is going to be a problem on the Hill" with the possibility of expanding the U.S. training role in Colombia. "The U.S. Congress would be notified if that plan goes forward," she said, according to a partial transcript of the interview quoted by the State Department. A U.S. Embassy official in Bogotá did not dispute the news stories, but said, "Some media accounts have overcharacterized what was said. There is no done deal yet. (Ambassador Patterson) did not say there was a firm deal." Key members of Congress from both parties were caught off-guard by the statements, and challenged what appeared to be a Bush foreign policy change without congressional input or approval. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., ranking minority member on the House Judiciary Committee, warned Thursday against "mission creep" in Colombia. "Several safeguards were put into Plan Colombia to prevent an escalation of U.S. involvement without congressional oversight," he said. Some Republicans voiced similar concerns. "We ought to first get the job done in southern Colombia eliminating coca as envisioned by Plan Colombia and end all the opium growth which is fueling the current heroin crisis here at home, before we expand our mission with the Colombian military," said Rep. Ben Gilman, R-N.Y. Gilman, who is vice chairman of the House drug policy subcommittee, also was troubled that Patterson appeared to rule out, under any circumstances, U.S. help to Colombia in its war with leftist guerrillas. "The political stomach for going into the counter-insurgency business is zero. It is not going to happen," she said, according to a partial transcript of the interview. Gillman said, "We question the extraordinary idea ... that the United States will never help another democracy fight its insurgency in a beleaguered nation." Colombia is engaged in a long running civil war with the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. At the same time, the government is battling with organized cocaine and heroin smuggling cartels controlled by the guerrillas. The drug cartels pay the guerrilla groups for protection, federal drug enforcement experts said. Adam Isacson, a senior analyst with the Center for International Policy in Washington, said Patterson's remarks appeared to reflect the type of mission creep critics of U.S. involvement in Colombia have predicted. "The first battalions trained haven't even received their helicopters yet and we're already talking about more U.S. trained battalions in other parts of the country," he said. "It is hard to see where it will end." One high-ranking House aide said there were optimistic signs that the Colombian battalions already trained could make a dent in the drug production. Note: Officials respond to news stories about anti-drug effort expansion.Source: Houston Chronicle (TX)Author: Michael HedgesPublished: July 27, 2001Copyright: 2001 Houston Chronicle Contact: viewpoints chron.com Website: http://www.chron.com/ Related Articles & Web Site:Colombia Drug War Newshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/colombia.htmBroader Role by U.S. Likely in Colombiahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10417.shtmlColombia Cartels Moving Into Peru http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10395.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by Pontifex on July 27, 2001 at 15:50:39 PT:
Stasis is not an option
The Bush administration has no plan to expand America's anti-drug efforts in Colombia, officials said Thursday.Oh, so the whole Columbian situation is going to freeze in place? Hardly.The anti-drug hydra is already loose and expanding in Columbia by the day. It doesn't require "plans to expand" from the Bush administration. Every gallon of Roundup sprayed, every paramilitary crackdown on villagers, every bullet-riddled missionary draws America deeper into the conflict.In nature, most things either grow or die. And U.S. intervention in Columbia is alive and well.
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