-Caveat Lector- from - http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020222/ap_to_po/us_colombia_ 22
Momentum builds for greater US support for Colombian military in the fight against rebels Thu Feb 21, 9:37 PM ET By KEN GUGGENHEIM, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON - The United States has provided Colombia's military with machine guns, combat helicopters and hundreds of military and civilian advisers in the fight against rebels. So far, it all has been in the name of battling drugs, not guerrillas. But with the breakdown of Colombia's peace process, momentum is building for greater U.S. involvement. The United States is exploring steps it can take to provide more help to Colombia while staying within limits set by Congress, generally restricting aid to counternarcotics, a U.S. official said Thursday. One option under consideration is enhanced intelligence sharing and a speedup in the delivery of spare parts for U.S. helicopters used by the Colombian military, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. The Bush administration also may permit increased U.S.-Colombian aerial spraying of narcotics fields - something the Colombians have been seeking. Colombia's President Andres Pastrana on Wednesday ended his government's peace process with the country's largest rebel group, known by its Spanish initials FARC. At the same time, Colombia began bombing a safe haven ceded to the FARC in 1998. Pastrana acted after the FARC hijacked a plane and kidnapped a senator on board. White House spokesman Sean McCormack, in Beijing with President Bush said: "We understand President Pastrana's decisions yesterday to break of peace talks with the FARC ... and begin military operations." He said the United States has supported the peace process, but "regrettably, the goodwill of the Pastrana government and the Colombian people have not been reciprocated by the FARC." Outlining a series of what he called terrorist attacks by the FARC, McCormack said the United States is consulting with the government about how it can help. Asked if U.S. military action is possible, McCormack said, "We are mindful of the legal constraints on our assistance, which we will respect." Bush's budget proposal for next year includes military aid unrelated to drugs: $98 million to help Colombia train and arm soldiers to protect a vital oil pipeline from rebel attacks. An additional $731 million was proposed in anti-drug aid for the Andean region. Still, no one is suggesting sending U.S. troops into battle. Steve Lucas, spokesman for U.S. Southern Command, said Thursday that U.S. military personnel in Colombia are generally "in secure areas - as secure as things get in Colombia - and we constantly address the potential threat to U.S. personnel and move them accordingly." The U.S. military has a strong presence in Colombia. The Defense Department has about 250 U.S. military personnel, 50 civilian employees and 100 civilian contractors in Colombia, Lucas said. In addition, State Department employees and contractors fly and maintain planes and helicopters used for drug crop eradication. Colombia has been a major recipient of U.S. military aid. A $1.3 billion aid package approved in 2000 provided Colombia with 14 Black Hawks and 33 UH-1N Huey helicopters plus training for a 3,000-soldier counternarcotics brigade. Colombia was the main beneficiary of a $625 million anti-drug package for the Andean region for this year. The military aid, though, has been limited largely to fighting drugs. Congress placed the restriction to prevent the United States from getting drawn into the 38-year-old civil war and because of concerns about the Colombian military's human rights record. But the distinction between fighting drugs and fighting guerrillas is murky. The guerrillas partly finance their insurgency by protecting drug crops and laboratories. Some Republican lawmakers have argued that it is impossible to distinguish between guerrillas involved in trafficking and those who are not. The distinction became less important after the Sept. 11 attacks, when U.S. officials started to see the Colombian conflict not only in terms of drugs, but also terrorism. The FARC, another rebel army and the main right-wing paramilitary group all are considered terrorist organizations by the State Department. The Bush administration took a tougher line on the FARC. In October, the State Department's top counterterrorism official, Francis X. Taylor warned the United States would fight terrorism in the hemisphere using "all the elements of our national power." The U.S. Embassy in Bogota said the United States would help train and equip Colombian anti-kidnapping squads. Bush's $98 million proposal to help Colombia train and arm soldiers to protect a vital oil pipeline from rebel attacks has raised questions. Secretary of State Colin Powell told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that despite the pipeline proposal, "our principal focus with the Andean initiative is on counternarcotics and not counterinsurgency." It is not clear whether Congress will support expanding aid to protect the pipeline or provide other aid not related to drugs. Concerns remain about growing U.S. involvement. A frequent critic of U.S. aid to Colombia, Rep. William Delahunt, said he could support providing aid that's not related to drugs if Colombia made "a genuine commitment to aggressively pursue and defeat paramilitary forces." But Delahunt, D-Mass., noted this would be a tough condition to meet. Human rights groups say Colombia's military has close ties to paramilitaries, who are responsible for most of the country's massacres. Bernard Aronson, the State Department's top Latin American affairs, said the U.S. role could be expanded without congressional approval. He said the State Department could offer a broader definition of what is considered anti-drug aid. "It was never a very bright line anyway between counternarcotics and counterinsurgency," he said. <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
