Pubdate: Wed, 06 Sep 2000 Source: Northwest Florida Daily News (FL) Copyright: 2000 Northwest Florida Daily News Contact: http://www.nwfdailynews.com/ COLOMBIA'S LOOKING A LOT LIKE VIETNAM President Clinton's national security adviser, Sandy Berger, insists the U.S. incursion into a long-running civil war - er, excuse us, $1.3 billion worth of assistance to the government in fighting the drug war - in Colombia is not like Vietnam. Not at all. "The fact is, this is nothing similar whatsoever," he told The Associated Press. Of course there are differences. But the parallels are too eerie to be dismissed. The United States is entering a long-running civil war in a jungle country. The United States plans to send in advisers and helicopters. People are to be relocated to "strategic hamlets" (though that's not the term being used) and taught to grow different crops. Part of the plan is to defoliate the jungle (with fungus rather than with napalm). And a few other things are missing this time around, suggesting that U.S. national interests should be very limited. Foremost, there is no global communist threat, and therefore no support for the other side by a hostile superpower with expansive ambitions. In fact, beyond the idea of "drug traffickers" - who are acknowledged to be a divided, shifting and competitive lot - it's hard to figure out if there is an "other side." Most authorities count about 20 armed groups with various agendas in Colombia. There is no way to construct a remotely plausible "domino theory" in regard to the Colombia drug war. If anything, the most destabilizing force in Colombia is likely to be U.S. intervention. On a tour to try to drum up support among Colombia's neighbors last month, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and other U.S. officials encountered mostly skepticism and fear, according to news reports. Ecuador is concerned about refugees, so Ms. Albright offered the country $15 million. Brazilian foreign minister Luiz Felipe Lampreia said outright that "Brazil does not have the same level of commitment as the United States in the program to fight drug trafficking in Colombia," and the country is beefing up its border forces. Peru is moving forces from its Ecuadorian border to its Colombian border in anticipation of refugees and disruption. Panama is requesting $30 million from the United States to handle expected border disruptions. Venezuela may or may not provide a safe haven for guerrillas. One could hardly expect the Colombian government to say "no, thanks" to money and helicopters; indeed, it will no doubt ask for more each year for years to come. But the iron logic of prohibition economics suggests the drug trade won't be stopped. As former Colombian police official Gustavo de Greiff has explained, a kilo of processed cocaine goes for about $2,000 in Colombia but can be sold for $60,000 on U.S. streets. That's a lot of profit for a lot of middlemen, and if you arrest one, three more will jump forward to take his place. If you suppress coca growing in Colombia it will pop up in Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela or Brazil. Indeed, it's already happening. Many drugs are said to cloud the mind, make it difficult to discern reality and subvert logical thinking. A drug war seems to have precisely that impact on policy-makers. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D