The Will To Win

IBD Editorials ^ | August 14, 2009 | INVESTORS BUSINESS DAILY Staff

[Kaslin]

Leadership: Gen. Ulysses Grant won our Civil War by doggedly pursuing the enemy even after winning battles. That's occurring in Colombia, where President Uribe is stepping up an already impressive war effort.

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As we went to press, Colombia was set to sign a pact over the weekend with the U.S. for access to seven military bases on its territory. It's an unprecedented vote of confidence in U.S. troops and will substantially expand both countries' capacity to fight drugs and terror.

But more than that, it's a strong sign President Alvaro Uribe intends to crush FARC's Marxist narcoterrorists, the group that's been trying to overthrow Colombia's democracy since 1966.

Uribe isn't stopping at bases. He's also buttressing a battered Mexico, which is fighting the same network of narco-thugs. On Thursday, Uribe signed an agreement with Mexico's President Felipe Calderon for Colombian national police to train 10,000 Mexican federales in effective counternarcotics warfare.

This is a clever move, for it will aid Mexico in a way that the U.S. cannot. For historical reasons, American troops are not allowed even to train troops on Mexican soil. But U.S.-trained, battle-hardened Colombians can.

Uribe has also raised Colombia's profile in the Dominican Republic by naming retired general Mario Montoya, an expert in counternarcotic warfare with a record of victory, as Colombia's ambassador. His appointment comes as the U.S. adds eight agents to its drug enforcement contingent on the tiny island, through which considerable drug traffic passes. That covers the Caribbean flank.

The whole picture is one of following up on success.

[Kaslin]

[microgood]

Uribe is the biggest drug dealer on the planet Earth. After 6 years of Plan Colombia the amount of cocaine coming out of Colombia has increased. Uribe's father was best friends with Pablo Escabar who had his father's body flown back to the family after the FARC killed him. Anyone who thinks Colombia or Uribe is on our side is a completely deluded. We blackball other countries in South America and give SAs largest exporter of cocaine an A++ in drug eradication efforts.

There is some serious evil going on here that is complicit with our government and may those involved end up in the deepest parts of Hell where they belong.