cannabisnews.com: Colombia Rebels: No Clinton Attacks Colombia Rebels: No Clinton Attacks Posted by FoM on August 21, 2000 at 20:15:11 PT By Cesar Garcia, Associated Press Writer Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune Leftist rebels who oppose growing U.S. ties to Colombia's military promised Monday not to stage attacks to disrupt President Clinton's upcoming visit to the South American country. " We will not impede (the Aug. 30 visit) with guerrilla actions, " Andres Paris, a commander and spokesman of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia told The Associated Press in an interview in this southern ranching town. But the insurgents known as FARC are " calling on the Colombian people -- the labor unions, student groups, organizations of the unemployed and others -- to protest Clinton's visit, " Paris added. Paris said a $1.3 billion U.S. anti-narcotics aid package for Colombia recently approved in Washington is " just a smokescreen to promote imperialist interests, " and that the U.S. government aims to exert control over the Andean region' s oil and mineral wealth. Clinton's planned one-day visit is intended as a show of support for President Andres Pastrana and his so-called " Plan Colombia" -- a strategy to revive Colombia' s economy and stem the country' s booming cocaine and heroin trade to the United States and Europe. Security is expected to be extremely tight for Clinton's brief visit and meeting with Pastrana in Cartagena, a Caribbean port. The president is only scheduled to stay a few hours and will not spend the night in Colombia, one of the world' s most violent countries. Paris said FARC rejects Clinton's visit " cause he is coming as the head of an empire to shore up Plan Colombia, which is only going to intensify the armed confrontation." The U.S. aid package will provide battle helicopters and Green Beret training to support a military push into southern jungles where FARC rebels and the militias take payoffs to protect peasant drug plots and traffickers' airstrips and laboratories. Increased bloodshed is widely expected in the conflict that already claims thousands of lives a year. The rebels, whom the State Department considers a terrorist organization, have claimed repeatedly that they are the real target of the U.S. aid plan. But U.S. officials insist that Washington is not becoming involved in Colombia's 36-year civil conflict. They concede, however, that U.S.-trained troops and equipment will be used against any guerrilla units who try to block stepped up efforts to eradicate drug crops and destroy labs. San Vicente Del Caguan, Colombia (AP) Published: August 21, 2000Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune (MN)Copyright: 2000 Star TribuneContact: opinion startribune.comAddress: 425 Portland Ave.Minneapolis MN 55488Fax: 612-673-4359Feedback: http://www.startribune.com/stonline/html/userguide/letform.htmlWebsite: http://www.startribune.com/Forum: http://talk.startribune.com/cgi-bin/WebX.cgiRelated Articles:Leaving a Legacy Of War in Colombia http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6783.shtmlClinton Announces Visit to Colombia http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6623.shtmlWashington's War On Colombia http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6100.shtmlDrug Control or Bio Warfare? http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread5616.shtml CannabisNews Search - Colombiahttp://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=colombia END SNIP --> Snipped Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #3 posted by kaptinemo on August 22, 2000 at 04:52:22 PT: You really want some answers? Try this:From: Colombia - Part 2 of 2, By Noam Chomskyhttp://www.bradley.edu/campusorg/bpn/znet/april25.txtAnother question lurks not too far in the background. Just what right does the US have to carry out these operations in other countries to destroy a crop it doesn't like? We can put aside the cynical response that the governments requested this "assistance"; if they hadn't, they wouldn't be the governments for long. The number of Colombians who die from US-produced lethal drugs (tobacco and alcohol) exceeds the number of North Americans who die from cocaine, and is far greater relative to the populations. In East Asia, US-produced lethal drugs are causing millions of deaths. These countries are compelled not only to accept the products but also advertising for them, under threat of severe trade sanctions; the Colombian cartels, in contrast, are not permitted to fund huge advertising campaigns in which a Joe Camel counterpart extols the wonders of cocaine. Does China, then, have the right to carry out military,chemical, and biological warfare in North Carolina? If not, why not?Yet another question has to do with the alleged concern over drug use. The seriousness of that concern was illustrated when a House Committee was considering the Clinton proposals. It rejected an amendment proposed byCalifornia Democrat Nancy Pelosi calling for funding of drug demand reduction services. It is well known that these are far more effective than forceful measures. A Rand study funded by the US Army and the government drug control agencies found that funds spent on domestic drug treatment were 23 times as effective as "source country control" (Clinton's Colombia Plan), 11 times as effective as interdiction, and 7 times as effective as domesticlaw enforcement. But that path will not be followed. Rather, the "drug war" targets poor peasants abroad and poor people at home; by the use of force, not constructive measures to alleviate problems at a fraction of the cost. We might also ask why there are no Delta Force raids on US banks andchemical corporations, though it is no secret that they too are engaged in the narcotrafficking business.The next question is: why the "drug war," in its specific form? An answer is implicit in an observation of Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, one of the few Senators to pay close attention to social statistics. By adopting thesemeasures, he observed, "we are choosing to have an intense crime problem concentrated among minorities." And why should that choice be made in a period when a domestic form of "structural adjustment" is being imposed?Answers do not seem too hard to find. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by dddd on August 22, 2000 at 03:50:56 PT I doubt you'd ask me ...but if you did,,I'd say this pretty much sums it up in direct,easy to understand terms.... "Paris said a $1.3 billion U.S. anti-narcotics aid package for Colombia recently approved in Washington is " justa smokescreen to promote imperialist interests, " and that the U.S. government aims to exert control over theAndean region' s oil and mineral wealth. " This is,in basic terms,what this is all about.We may see stories that criticize the ghastly,and inexcusable ."aid" to Colombia,in the name of drugs,,,,,,... but you dont really see many articles in the mainstream media,reporting on the oil connection.That's where the real,pseudo-legal big money influence,and main reason for this sh*t is. Big oil bogart money,plays more than a significant part in all this,and I consider the somewhat rare critical news of this,and the less rare articles that only refer to it as a drug eradication,,points to one of the biggest,crooked influences,,whos' bribery is near the top of a list of many,less than noble-intentioned scoundrel corporate big-ass bottomliners...These influences,are made far more strange and devious,when one realizes,,that these mega-corporate entitys,,are just that. They are entitys,,,no longer is there an individual influencing policy.,it's groups of people,who insulate themselves,individually, from the obvious wrong they know they are behind.They have families,and they are not necessarily "evil",,or,,"cruel" individuals,,,,and the only way they can exsist and justify their evil,and what they know are the results of their actions,,,is to be part of a group,and remove themselves from blame. What does all this mean.....?,,,,,I'm just gonna let it say what it says,,,,,,....................May JAH be with you..............dddd [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by m.o.g. on August 21, 2000 at 21:21:15 PT what a freaing joke... yeah, this is a great idea...who the f# $ thought of thisplan...i can't wait to see how many us troops die over this great idea...not to mention the billions and billions more money we are going to pure into this, once we prove it doesn't work...the land of the free my ass... [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: