cannabisnews.com: The Colombia Quandary





The Colombia Quandary
Posted by CN Staff on May 05, 2002 at 16:16:23 PT
By Patrick Leahy
Source: Los Angeles Times
Before we rush to bring the war against international terrorism to the jungles of Colombia--as the administration and some in Congress now urge--we would do well to understand that country's feudal history. We should also review what has been done with the nearly $2 billion we have appropriated for Colombia in the past two years."Plan Colombia," devised by the Clinton administration and the Colombian government to drastically curtail cocaine production in Colombia, called for $7.5 billion. At the time, we were told that Colombia would contribute $4 billion and the U.S. share was to be $1.6 billion. 
Donations by other countries, mostly European, have not materialized. The Colombian government's support has also fallen short. Now the Bush administration seeks an additional $537 million for fiscal year 2003.So far, U.S. tax dollars have paid for a fleet of aircraft to spray chemical herbicide over large areas of the country planted in coca, for combat helicopters to protect the planes from groundfire and for training and equipment for counter-drug battalions. Funds also went to economic programs to give coca farmers alternative sources of income and to reform Colombia's dysfunctional justice system. Because of the Colombian military's poor human rights record, Congress conditioned aid on the prosecution of military officers implicated in serious abuses and on the severing of the military's links with illegal paramilitary groups. These groups, like the guerrillas, have been designated by the administration as terrorist organizations.By any objective measure, Plan Colombia's results have been disappointing.Initially, the State Department predicted a 30% reduction in coca cultivation by the end of this year. Although nearly 85,000 hectares were sprayed last year, coca cultivation in Colombia actually rose, by at least 21,100 hectares. Other than raising questions about possible adverse health and environmental effects, the spraying seems to have produced few results. There has not been any significant reduction in the flow of illegal drugs into the U.S., and virtually no one in the administration thinks there will be.Moreover, U.S.-funded economic programs have produced little in the way of viable alternatives for farmers. It is dangerous and difficult to implement successful programs in the conflict zones where coca is grown, particularly without stronger support from the Colombian government, which has not invested enough of its own money in these areas and has done little to reform its sagging economy.Last week, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell certified that, while additional improvement is important, Colombia has met the human rights conditions on which further U.S. aid is contingent. But the certification had more to do with the fact that U.S. aid was running out than with Colombia's actually making sufficient progress on human rights. Senior military officers who have been implicated in the murders of civilians or who have abetted paramilitary violence and drug trafficking have not been jailed. Many remain on active duty and some have been promoted. Human rights investigators and prosecutors have been threatened, killed or forced to flee the country. Although some soldiers have been suspended, none have been prosecuted and some have joined the paramilitary groups responsible for a large share of targeted assassinations and gruesome attacks against unarmed civilians. Like the guerrillas, the paramilitary groups are deeply involved in drug trafficking. Yet some local military commanders share airfields, intelligence and logistics with them.For a time, it seemed that President Andres Pastrana's brave efforts to negotiate peace might pay off. Now, though, the talks have collapsed. Violence has intensified, and the guerrillas, especially the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), have sharply escalated kidnappings, assassinations and other terrorist acts. They are unlikely to defeat the Colombian military, but they can lay siege to cities by cutting off water and power supplies. Colombia's generals are now asking the U.S. for additional aid to fight the war.Americans need to understand that Colombia is really two "countries," a condition that is at the heart of its problems. The thinly populated, impoverished eastern half, which the government has ignored for generations, is mired in the 19th century, while the sophisticated, urban west is edging toward the 21st. There are deeply rooted social, economic and political reasons why Latin America's oldest conflict is no closer to resolution, and why drug money, corruption and lawlessness permeate Colombian society. These problems, which ultimately only Colombians can solve, will not be fixed by simply attacking the symptoms, and an all-out war against the twin terrorist threats--guerrillas and paramilitaries--would cost far more, take far longer and cause more havoc than anyone in Washington has acknowledged so far.Until now, we have confined our aid to funding anti-drug measures. But that may be changing. Earlier this year, the administration asked Congress for an additional $98 million to protect 100 miles of an oil pipeline that has been a frequent target of guerrilla attacks, costing Colombia $500 million a year in oil revenues. A vote on the funding is pending. The White House is also seeking broad new counter-terrorism authority in an interim spending bill now pending before Congress, opening the door to a deeper, open-ended U.S. involvement in Colombia.Colombia is not Afghanistan, and no one has advocated sending U.S. troops. But we should remember that the U.S. sent $5 billion to the military of El Salvador, a country with 1/50th the land area of Colombia and they could not defeat the guerrillas there. Are we and the Colombian people--who currently spend a meager 3% of their GDP on the army--prepared for a wider war, which would bring with it not only economic costs but also many more displaced people and an inevitable increase in civilian casualties?Before taking this path, we should consider alternatives. Should we send an envoy of the caliber of Richard Holbrooke to push for a cease-fire and actively support a much more inclusive negotiating strategy than was pursued previously? What about attacking the security problems that have given rise to paramilitary groups by strengthening Colombia's National Police, which has a cleaner human rights record and which may be more effective in responding to kidnappings and other terrorist acts?We want to help Colombia, particularly as the FARC has evolved from a rebel movement with a political ideology to a drug-financed terrorist syndicate. But we and the Colombians need to be clear about our goals and what it would take to achieve them. We should not rush to commit ourselves to a costly and ambiguous policy. Continued U.S. aid to the Colombian military must be tied to accountability for abuses and to aggressively fighting the paramilitaries. Goal-setting should also be coordinated, after the elections in May, with Colombia's new president, who may favor an entirely different approach.Finally, just as Colombians need to take far more responsibility for their own problems, we need to understand that Colombia cannot solve America's drug problem, nor is Columbia responsible for it. Our meager attempts to reduce demand for drugs have failed, and unless we devote far more effort to what we know works--education and treatment--the drugs will keep coming and Americans will keep dying. Note: To date, U.S. aid has done almost nothing to reduce the flow of cocaine.Patrick Leahy is a Democratic U.S. senator from Vermont and chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Foreign Operations of the Appropriations Committee.Newshawk: RobbieSource: Los Angeles Times (CA)Author: Patrick LeahyPublished: May 5 2002 Copyright: 2002 Los Angeles TimesContact: letters latimes.comWebsite: http://www.latimes.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Colombia Drug War Newshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/colombia.htmU.S. Certifies Colombian 'Progress' on Rights http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12690.shtmlOfficial: No Combat Role in Colombiahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12629.shtml CannabisNews Articles - Colombiahttp://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=colombia
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