Pubdate: Tue, 17 Oct 2006
Source: Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
Copyright: 2006 Sun-Sentinel Company
Contact:  http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/159
Author: Frank Bajak, Associated Press

U.S. SAYS COLOMBIA WINNING WAR, MILITARY AID SHOULD BE REDUCED

MIAMI -- The U.S. military's commander for Latin America says 
Washington should gradually reduce its roughly $600 million in annual 
military and anti-drug aid to Colombia, support that has been crucial 
to putting the region's most potent rebel force on the defensive.

"I'm not concerned there's going to be a loss of funding," Gen. John 
Craddock said Monday when asked about reports that the State 
Department wants to phase out Plan Colombia, which has provided the 
country with some $4 billion in total aid since 2000.

"First of all, there should be (decreased funding), over time. It 
makes sense. The Colombians are winning," said Craddock, a four-star 
general and former tank commander who this week ends a two-year stint 
as chief of the U.S. Southern Command.

"(The Colombians) are taking every year more and more responsibility 
for the conduct and the resources. That's the way it ought to be," 
said Craddock, who will be assuming command of U.S. forces in Europe 
and Africa and of NATO.

In an interview with several news organizations at his headquarters, 
Craddock said Colombia's defense minister, Juan Manuel Santos, is in 
agreement with reductions in U.S. military funding.

The U.S. aid has helped President Alvaro Uribe, elected in May to a 
second four-year term, make Colombia's highways and cities safer and 
cut the world's highest kidnapping rate roughly in half by putting 
the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, on the defensive.

And though it's questionable whether Plan Colombia has put a serious 
dent in drug trafficking from the world's leading cocaine producing 
nation, from which the FARC and other illegal armed groups benefit, 
the Colombian military's gains are measurable.

U.S. analysts say the FARC has been reduced by some 5,000 fighters to 
12,000 since 2002 as Uribe boosted the number of police and soldiers 
by 30 percent, created elite anti-insurgency units and benefited from 
training by U.S. Special Forces and closer intelligence-sharing.

Colombia's military has also gained air mobility with the acquisition 
of a fleet of UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters.

But Uribe's armed forces have recently been beset by a series of 
scandals, including accusations of dozens of civilians killed by 
soldiers who claimed they were rebels and allegations that military 
intelligence officers have staged bombings and FARC surrenders to 
make it appear as if they have been weakening the rebels.

The most egregious scandal involved the May massacre of 10 anti-drug 
police by a military unit _ a hit allegedly ordered up by cocaine mafiosos.

On other topics, Craddock said he believes there is greater democracy 
in the region than when he assumed command two years ago of 
Southcom's 1,200 soldiers and civilians in the Caribbean and Latin 
America south of Mexico.

"I think that if you take it on balance and look at the entire region 
there's cause for optimism," he said, adding that the results of 
Sunday's elections in Ecuador indicate democracy is working even in 
that chronically unstable country.

Leftist economist Rafael Correa, who vowed not to renew the U.S. base 
at Manta when its lease runs out in 2009, scored far fewer votes 
Sunday that pre-election polls indicated, forcing a November runoff 
with Alvaro Noboa, Ecuador's wealthiest man. Noboa is far more 
acceptable to Washington.

Craddock said the rise of populists such as Correa highlight his 
greatest concern about the region: that even with economic growth, 
little has been done to bridge the wide gap between rich and poor.

"I think that what we're seeing is a recognition that governments 
have an obligation in the region to eliminate poverty, reduce 
corruption and reduce the inequality," he said.

Craddock has in the past accused President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela a 
playing a "destabilizing" role by trying to export his "extreme 
populist movement" elsewhere.

Asked for evidence of that Monday in the case of Bolivia, Craddock 
wouldn't comment. But he denied that U.S. military ties with Bolivia 
have suffered, even as populist President Evo Morales strengthens 
military cooperation with Venezuela.

He said U.S. soldiers are currently planning a humanitarian 
assistance mission in Bolivia under the "New Horizons" program, in 
which U.S. soldiers engage in construction projects and provide free 
medical care.

Craddock's replacement as Southcom chief, Adm. James G. Stavridis, 
takes over on Thursday. Like Craddock before him, Stravridis wears 
four stars and comes to the job after serving as a top military aide 
to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
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MAP posted-by: Elaine