Analysis: U.S. policy morphing in Colombia

The United States is deepening its military involvement with Colombia's Andres Pastrana even as his country slides toward civil war, U.S. administration officials said.

The new, tougher policy means the Bush administration is departing from the narrow, counter-narcotics program described during the Clinton era. Instead, it will embark on improving Colombia's military capacities via expanded aid that will create more U.S-advised Colombia military units and accelerate broadened bilateral intelligence exchanges in order to curb mounting levels of Marxist guerilla activity including kidnapping and terrorism, these sources said.

"We no longer view the FARC and ELN guerillas as an internal threat to the security of Colombia, but as a threat to the security of the United States," a senior Pentagon official told United Press International.

Another administration official said: "It's time to drop the fiction of anti-narcotics aid only. Americans are targets in Colombia."

A State Dept. official added, "We want the Colombian army to be able to go and get the bad guys wherever they are." A high-level, 50-person U.S. security delegation arrived in Colombia last Wednesday to urge Pastrana take a more vigorous approach in combating the 17,000-member Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia group known by its Spanish initials as FARC.

The delegation was led by Marc Grossman, undersecretary of state for political affairs and State's No. 3 ranking diplomat. Members included senior officials from the Justice Department, the National Security Council, the Pentagon, and the White House drug czar's office, according to State Department Spokesman Phil Reeker.

Secretary of State Colin Powell is due to visit Colombia Sept. 11 to 12 on his way back from a trip to Peru. The new U.S. policy would mean a greater role for the U.S. Southern Command than the current one of supplying 40 Black Hawk and Huey 2 helicopters as escorts for Colombian police crop dusters that spray defoliants on FARC's coca crops to undermine its drug trading.

Under the new policy, "we are talking about more direct military-to-military support," a State Department official said. Last April Pentagon officials told Congress that the U.S. military mission would end with the delivery of the helicopters. Although official U.S. policy in Colombia has been to support democracy, combat narcotics trafficking, and aid social and economic development, the Bush administration has been increasingly concerned over activities in five southern districts declared a FARC safe haven in 1998 as part of attempts by Pastrana and FARC to achieve some sort of peace process. An area the size of the country of Switzerland, the demilitarized zone is being used to traffic in drugs, run mobile prison camps and train terrorists, a State Department official said.

John Moore, a former Defense Dept. counter-terrorism analyst, told UPI that Cubans, militant Palestinians, Hezbollah, and even advisors from the leftist government of Venezuela are all active in the area, questioning the official State Department line that the guerillas receive no outside help.

"Security conditions are going from bad to worse," another Defense Dept. official agreed. Larry Johnson, a former CIA anti-terrorist expert, doubts the wisdom of creating the safe haven as a concession to the rebels, describing it as "a Club Med for terrorists."

Not everyone is eager to see any expansion of a U.S. military role. Jina Amatangelo, fellow for Colombia at the Washington Office on Latin America, an Andean affairs think tank, said: "We're already very concerned about U.S. military assistance because of the human rights implications." She said well-documented evidence shows persistent links between the Columbian Army and such right-wing paramilitary groups as the United Self-Defense Forces/Group of Colombia. She added the Colombia Commission of Jurists estimates that 70 percent of killings (of civilians) are carried out "by paramilitary groups associated with the army."

Indeed , the U.S. government Monday designated the militant group, abbreviated by its Spanish initials AUC, as a foreign terrorist organization. The decision, which makes it illegal for U.S. citizens to raise money for the group, marks the first time Washington has listed a right-wing paramilitary group as a foreign terrorist organization. FARC and the other main Colombia terrorist group, ELN, both left wing, are already on the list.

The paramilitary groups also have links to the drug trade, making a farce out of U.S. efforts to stamp it out, Amatangelo said. U.S. intelligence officials confirmed that the paramilitary groups do have such links.

Some think that the new Bush policy isn't all that new, however. Adam Isacson, senior associate of the Center for International Policy's Colombia Project, said the line between anti-narcotic and anti-insurgency policy "blurred a long time ago" with the United States quietly feeding Colombia counterinsurgency intelligence.

U.S. intelligence sources confirmed that although there are strict guidelines that restrict any U.S. intelligence-sharing to a counter-narcotics role, the Clinton administration gave Colombia anti-insurgency intelligence as early as 1999. Bush officials have continued the trend. The intelligence is mainly signals intelligence collected from airborne or space platforms, these sources said.

Isacson commented: "It's never been what the Colombians wanted," but a U.S. official said that such exchanges have already been "stepped up and broadened in scope." He did not elaborate.

Isacson speculated that the improved intelligence has played a role in recent battlefield successes of the Colombian Army. In a recent "August 7th Operation," the FARC had barely emerged with 2,000 men from a stronghold in the south when "the Colombian Army was all over them," Isacson said.

Last year, as part of Pastrana's Plan Colombia, the Congress passed a $1.5 billion counter-drug package for the country, making it one of the biggest recipients of U.S. aid. Current restrictions limit the U.S. military presence to 500 active-duty troops and 300 private contracts.

U.S. aid has helped fund and train three anti-narcotics battalions or about 2,800 men. If the new plan is approved, the U.S. would create additional battalions to operate in different areas. "From the military perspective, the new policy means more involvement by the Southern Command," a Pentagon official said.

But Mike Schifter, vice president for policy for the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington based think tank, said flatly that the "military dimension is not enough." A tougher Colombian military could force the FARC and ELN to the peace table but Schifter cited the example of El Salvador where peace negotiations only began after fighting had ceased. Schifter told UPI he looks to the coming visit of Powell as a hopeful sign of a higher level of political engagement by the United States, which till now, has been lacking, he said.

"We don't want a policy formulated by DEA or the Southern Command," he explained. Instead, there must be "a broader, more strategic vision, a comprehensive political strategy."

...the Colombia Commission of Jurists estimates that 70 percent of killings (of civilians) are carried out "by paramilitary groups associated with the army."

Perhaps we should debate this as to factuality before we send any more bucks. Doesn't seem right to give dollars to death squads, left or "right".

Better yet, just stop the tax dollars all together, and let individuals send their contributions to the terrorists of their choice.

a threat to the security of the United States,

translation: "...a clear and present danger..." - Tom Clancy

Is this for real or just the plot of a book?

Don't lose your cool. Right now everyone is fascinated by the southwest asia theatre of war but we have a lot of pretty hard and savvy guys keeping an eye on the south. While some assets like recon drones and special ops airplanes may be all tied up, we have about 1 1/2 Special Forces Groups that stay zeroed in on this area. They speak Spanish and the other languages of the area, they know the people and the players. There is a complete intel infrastructure behind them and most of it isn't going anywhere.

So far there has been no demand for sending the Spanish speakers to start learning Farsi or Pushto. That means that the bosses still want 'em to speak Spanish, I guess.

(We have other guys watching the Asian area too). Not giving away secrets to say we have good people on watch, and they think about these things, too.

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F

This Colombia ordeal is similar to the way Vietnam began. They've got deep dark jungles too. Only difference is there is a lot of oil in Colombia. Lots of oil and lots of natives to poison with the pesticides being sprayed on them and their banana crops. It will not surprise me if Colombian rebels come to American soil to wage their wars like the Arabs have done.

While America was being attacked on September 11th, our wonderful Secretary, Mr. Powell was in south America giving more funding and Blackhawk helicopters to murder and poison the people of South America. When will the injustices end?

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