Pubdate: Fri, 21 Jun 2002
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Copyright: 2002 San Jose Mercury News
Contact:  http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/390
Author: Tim Johnson, Knight Ridder

U.S. MEETING LIFTS HOPES IN COLOMBIA'S WAR ON DRUGS, TERROR

WASHINGTON - President-elect Alvaro Uribe of Colombia emerged from the 
White House on Thursday declaring that he had found "great determination" 
in President Bush to help Colombia's struggle against drug-financed terrorism.

"We are on the right track," Uribe said after a half-hour meeting with 
national security adviser Condoleezza Rice. Bush stopped in for part of the 
session.

For their part, U.S. officials voiced resolve to help embattled Colombia 
combat outlaw armies roaming the country, even as analysts warned of new 
signs that the South American nation's countryside is falling deeper into 
the hands of guerrillas and outlaw militias.

"We are going to help Colombia in everything that may be necessary for it 
to win this war," said Otto Reich, an assistant secretary of state who 
attended several meetings with Uribe.

Uribe's meeting with Bush marked a watershed of sorts in U.S.-Colombian 
relations. For the first time in probably two decades, another issue -- 
counterterrorism -- moved sharply to the fore alongside drug trafficking to 
dominate bilateral relations.

Since the Sept. 11 terror attacks, U.S. officials have repeatedly stressed 
that Colombia faces a terrorist threat from outlaw groups fueled by the 
narcotics industry.

Two leftist rebel groups and a rightist paramilitary army in Colombia are 
on a U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations.

"I have found great determination in President Bush to help in everything 
to do with the struggle against terrorism," Uribe said after the White 
House meeting.

In a major shift, Congress is likely within days to approve a Bush 
administration proposal to allow U.S. aid to Colombia to be used for 
counterinsurgency, as well as counternarcotics, programs.

Washington has allotted nearly $2 billion in aid to Colombia in the past 
three years.

White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said Bush "reiterated U.S. 
support for Colombia in its efforts to counter both narcotics trafficking 
and terrorism" and noted that the two leaders "talked about the need to 
fight terrorism within the framework of democratic institutions and full 
respect for human rights."

Uribe, who takes office Aug. 7, won a landslide victory in May among 
Colombians fed up with terrorist bombings, attacks and kidnappings.

Reich said the Colombian told the White House he wants to double the 
nation's corps of professional soldiers to 100,000 and plans "to increase 
the proportion of the budget dedicated to the war."
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