-Caveat Lector- from - http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20020211/pl_nm/colombia_usa_dc _3
More U.S. Military Aid to Colombia Possible-Report Sun Feb 10, 7:30 PM ET BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) - The United States, which has concentrated military aid to Colombia on the anti-drug struggle but will now help defend an oil pipeline, could upgrade its assistance to the country's war effort, the U.S. ambassador here said in a newspaper interview. In Colombia's El Tiempo newspaper on Sunday, Ambassador Anne Patterson said decisions on future U.S. military aid would hinge on the success of a new initiative to train and equip a Colombian army brigade to protect the pipeline. Asked whether the plan to spend $98 million helping Colombian troops prevent leftist rebel attacks on the much-bombed Cano Limon duct could be followed by other aid to protect infrastructure, Patterson replied: "Yes. But we are going to see how this project goes with the Cano Limon." She said there were more than 300 sites with infrastructure of strategic importance to the United States in Colombia and securing Latin American oil supplies was more important now with growing tension in the Middle East. U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Marc Grossman said on Tuesday the U.S. government would ask Congress for $98 million to protect the 490-mile (780-kilometer) Cano Limon, which pumps oil produced by U.S. firm Occidental Petroleum Corp. It comes on top of massive military aid to Colombia's armed forces to fight the drug trade under President Andres Pastrana's "Plan Colombia." Until now, the United States has said it only wants to fight the cocaine business and not get directly involved in a messy 38-year-old war which has claimed about 40,000 lives in the past decade. The Colombian army said it killed seven Marxist rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known by the Spanish initials "FARC," and five far-right paramilitaries in fighting around the country over the weekend. U.S. TO HELP FIGHT KIDNAPPING "It is true that this is not an anti-narcotics issue, but it is something we have to do. It is important for the future of the country (Colombia), for our petroleum supplies and for the confidence of our investors," Patterson said. The United States also wants to provide $25-30 million to train Colombia's anti-kidnapping police. Most of the world's kidnappings occur here, and there were more than 3,000 in 2001 alone -- many carried out by Marxist rebels seeking ransoms. Colombian officials, who have asked to remain anonymous, say they have detected a growing U.S. willingness to confront Marxist guerrillas and far-right paramilitaries in Colombia since the Sept. 11 attacks on America that prompted President Bush (news - web sites) to launch a global war on terrorism. Grossman said the new plan, which includes providing helicopters to mobilize troops across the Eastern Colombian savanna, would not lead to deploying U.S. soldiers for combat. In practice, the demarcation between the drug fight and the war has always been fuzzy as rebels and paramilitaries have increasingly relied on cocaine money to fund their fighting. Washington-based group Human Rights Watch has called for the United States to suspend military aid, saying that the armed forces have not broken ties with paramilitary outlaws. The United States originally contributed over $1 billion in mainly military aid to Plan Colombia, and the Bush administration is now asking Congress for another $439 million for anti-drug efforts in the South American nation. After a year of intensive crop spraying and attempts to lure peasants from growing drugs, there has been little effect on output in the nation which is the world's largest source of cocaine. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
