US CO: Editorial: Clinton's Wrong War URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1330/a06.html Newshawk: Sledhead - VOTE Patrick L. Lilly, Colo. Senate, Dist. 12 Pubdate: Thu, 07 Sep 2000 Source: Denver Post (CO) Copyright: 2000 The Denver Post Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Address: 1560 Broadway, Denver, CO 80202 Fax: (303) 820.1502 Website: http://www.denverpost.com/ Forum: http://www.denverpost.com/voice/voice.htm CLINTON'S WRONG WAR Sept. 7, 2000 - President Clinton is dragging the United States into another country's civil war. Clinton would be far wiser to invest $1.3 billion in reducing U.S. demand for cocaine than to squander the sum arming Colombia's military. Many aspects of America's purported war on drugs are preposterous, but none is more absurd than using military force to solve what essentially is the medical problem of addiction and the economic reality of supply and demand. However, the Clinton plan expands the long-standing silliness to disturbing proportions. Colombia's civil war has festered for decades. All sides have committed human rights abuses, and all sides have profited from the cocaine industry. Yet Clinton justifies sending helicopters and other weapons to Colombia by claiming that another democracy has asked for help and the United States must respond. In truth, the American arms will be useless against drug lords, safely shielded in their urban mansions, and most likely will be aimed at defenseless rural peasants. Already, Colombia's military has a horrible track record of murder and torture. While the drug cartels also have their own terrible history of similar crimes, there is no excuse for law enforcement ever to engage in such thuggery. Yet the Clinton plan does nothing to stop the Colombian army's human rights abuses. Moreover, after criticizing nations like Iraq for using biological warfare, the United States is poised to commit much the same offense. Into Colombia's spectacular mountains and forests, the Clinton administration plans to introduce a new fungus, which supposedly will infect only cocaine plants. However, there apparently is no objective research on the fungus' long-term effects, especially on the peasants whose farms will get sprayed. Nor are there solid guarantees that the fungus won't ever attack other native plant species. True, the drug trade also is destroying Colombia's ecosystem, cutting down rain forests to make room for coca fields and indiscriminately applying herbicides to maximize cocaine production. However, the drug gangs that commit such sins are criminals, and Uncle Sam supposedly is not. Clinton insists that he is not pulling the United States into "another Vietnam." But in making that statement, Clinton either has become deaf to history's lessons or he is deliberately misleading both the American and Colombian peoples. MAP posted-by: Richard Lake <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
