Pubdate: Thu, 07 Dec 2000
Source: Badger Herald (WI)
Copyright: 2000 Badger Herald
Address: 326 W. Gorham St., Madison WI, 53703
Fax: (608) 257-6899
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Website: http://www.badgerherald.com/
Author: Dan Goldman, Opinion Staff Writer
NOTE: Dan Goldman is a senior majoring in history. He is on the National
Board of Directors for Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP).

FAILED DRUG WAR A POOR EXPORT

It might seem like things could not possibly get any worse for
Colombia, a country whose civil war is in its fourth decade, but it
has.

First, an international controversy erupted over $1.3 billion of U.S.
aid for Colombia, ostensibly to fight the drug war at its source
through the increased fumigation of peasants coca fields. Then, Sen.
Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., an outspoken critic of the aid package,
traveled to the region and was nearly caught in an assassination
attempt that both the U.S. and Colombian governments have tried to
downplay.

Now it seems that our own military personnel are too precious to be
wasted in Colombia, so the Pentagon, in its infinite wisdom, has
decided to send retired top military brass to do the work for them,
conveniently operating without congressional oversight.

In 1999, when Congress began deliberations on the aid package to
support Plan Colombia a $7 billion-plus plan to boost Colombias
economy, world standing and progress against its rebels. Many
protesters, policy analysts and even a handful of brave politicians
dared to question the wisdom of exporting our failed war on drugs.

Questions about the human rights records of the Colombian military and
the government-supported right-wing paramilitary moved Congress to
attach a measure to the aid package that forced the Pentagon to
certify the Colombian militarys human rights progress before the money
could begin to flow. In a blow to crusaders for justice around the
world, this provision was bypassed as President Clinton believed the
aid was needed immediately, whether it was going to human rights
violators or not.

The money, which will be used by the Colombian government to buy
helicopters from U.S. defense contractors, has already begun to wreak
havoc on the lives of innocent peasants on the ground throughout
Colombia. Eduardo Guerra, a member of a declared neutral peace
community in northern Colombia, recently spoke in Madison on the
worsening situation since U.S. aid has been promised. He spoke of
massacres that left 87 members of the peace community dead and
frightened countless more.

According to Guerra, helicopters intended to destroy coca plantations
often end up bombing land used to grow food. And it avoids destroying
drug plantations in northern Colombia, which are owned by the
paramilitary and produce the highest-quality cocaine.

To get a first-hand view of the carnage, Sen. Wellstone visited
Colombia and included on his tour some of the most dangerous regions
of the country. While en route to the town of Barrancabermeja, where
massacres occur regularly and the killers rarely stand in court, two
bombs exploded along the road the Americans were believed to be traveling.

Fortunately, the senator and his entourage were safely transported by
helicopter and they escaped the country days later with their lives
intact. It was believed that Colombias second-largest militant leftist
movement, the National Liberation Army, or ELN, was
responsible.

A further condition on the aid package to Colombia was a limit on the
number of U.S. military personnel who would be allowed into the region
to work on implementing Plan Colombia. Initially the limit was set at
250 personnel, but was increased to 800 by Congress as it became clear
it was necessary to have American trainers, pilots, mechanics and
commanders in Colombia to demonstrate how to operate the newly
acquired military toys.

With lessons from Vietnam still fresh in their minds, Pentagon
officials have opted for a new maneuver when enforcing American
imperialism abroad. To escape congressional oversight and negative
public reactions whenever Americans die needlessly in conflicts
abroad, the Clinton administration has sent out for hired guns.

An Alexandria, Va.-based Military Professional Resources Inc.,
comprised largely of retired military officers and Pentagon officials,
has been sent to Colombia as a way to avoid Congressional restrictions
on U.S. military activity and to avoid any political fallout if more
American soldiers die in this pseudo-conflict.

Robin Kirk of Human Rights Watch notes, Were outsourcing the war in a
way that is not accountable [or] in accordance with international law.
MPRI argues it can get the job done and cheaper, without creating
another burden for the Pentagon.

Currently, they have 14 employees in the region, under the direction
of a retired Army major general. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., also has
concerns, We have no way of knowing if the contractors are training
these Colombian soldiers in ways that are fully consistent with U.S.
policy, laws and procedures.

While comparisons with Vietnam are often misguided, according to Rep.
David Obey, D-Wis., the Colombia situation has him particularly
worried, and for good reason. An MPRI spokesman Ed Soyster a retired
Army lieutenant general and former director of the Defense Departments
Defense Intelligence Agency compared the need for secrecy in Colombia
with the need for secrecy in Vietnam. When I was in Vietnam, I wouldnt
want to tell you about my operation, he said. If the enemy knows about
it, he can counter it.

Former supporters of American Aid for Plan Colombia are beginning to
back away. Without the expected level of support from the European
Union or even Colombias neighboring countries in South and Latin
America, the United States appear to be taking a stand against the
tide of the international community a trend that has many politicians
worried. Rep. Obey believes, Whatever happens, there are going to be a
lot of mothers sons who are going to die who may or may not be Americans.

At a time when crack and powder cocaine are more available to children
at increasingly younger ages, when its purity level has risen while
the street price has fallen two excellent indicators of how much of
the drug is being imported should America really be exporting its
failed drug policies to countries that might not survive another disaster?

Dan Goldman is a senior majoring in history. He is on the National
Board of Directors for Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP).
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