I recently joined the CIA � Drugs group and would like to thank you all for having me in this joint. I find many of the posts very interesting and enjoy the range of viewpoints offered by different contributors. I am struck by the nomination of Asa Hutchinson to head of DEA coinciding with an apparent attempt to undermine the peace negotiations in Colombia. According to the New York Times ("Peace Effort in Colombia Near a Standstill," August 27, 2001), "The numbingly slowpace of negotiations has been worsened by missteps, disorganization and a lack of financing in the government office responsible for negotiating, said former negotiators and diplomats who have taken part in the discussions� Participants said government representatives often arrived in rebel-held territory without being properly briefed." My, how little $1.3 billion buys! The RAND report, created to justify military action, has hedged that a strike against the FARC is essentially the only option worthwhile: "The key lesson from El Salvador is the need to move forces out of static defense, to the extent possible, and remake them into mobile units to retake the initiative from the guerrillas and progressively clear them out of economically strategic areas." "Economically strategic areas" is, of course, code for drug growing regions, which is where our pal Asa comes in. A veteran of the Barry Seal collaboration and cover-up, his name has been floated well ahead of confirmation hearings to see if the corporate media will address the implications of the Seal "prosecution" on the kind of work he will do at DEA. Silence being golden, he is confirmed 98-1. The GOP looked a little dated trying to go on about the Persian Gulf War at the 2000 convention, and if Bush is going to beat FARC in a winnable Ramboesque Vietnam rematch in time for November 2004, they will need more money than the people will allow lawmakers to allocate, and "economically strategic areas" will have to be covertly utilized. Some money will come from the Department of Defense, as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs William Brownfeld has already confirmed. The RAND report's description of the possible scenario of FARC takeover or power-sharing warns that takeover would result in "a state that will likely replicate Cuban characteristics." A peace agreement "heavily tilted toward the FARC" would lead to "a power-sharing arrangement that leaves the FARC in charge of large parts of Colombia (including the coca-growing regions), and the removal of U.S. influence." Whatever any of us may think of the Castro regime, the claims to "synergy" between drug eradication and an anti-Marxist counter-insurrection, citing the Cuban model, is somewhat compromised by the fact that Cuba since the revolution has not been a major US source of drugs, while before the revolution it was the center of Lucky Luciano's heroin operation, by far the largest of its time. FARC, for sure, will continue in the business of cocaine production in such a scenario, but as Hutchinson said in his confirmation hearing:"I think we should not delude ourselves, but our efforts there hopefully will have some good side benefit for the drug supply in America. But we have to realize the primary impact is to support that democracy." "Support that democracy" means beat FARC for the cameras and so that the McMarshall Plan aspects of the Andean Regional Initiative will not be needed to secure U.S. corporate hegemony in the hemisphere, helping Bush get reelected in time to sneak FTAA through congress on page A16. Bake ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> <FONT COLOR="#000099">FREE COLLEGE MONEY CLICK HERE to search 600,000 scholarships! </FONT><A HREF="http://us.click.yahoo.com/zoU8wD/4m7CAA/ySSFAA/xYTolB/TM";><B>Click Here!</B></A> ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Please let us stay on topic and be civil. To unsubscribe please go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cia-drugs -Home Page- www.cia-drugs.org OM Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
