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MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE  SUBJECT:       Continuation of U.S. Drug Interdiction Assistance to the Government of ColombiaBy the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, and pursuant to the authority vested in me by section 1012 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1995, as amended (22 U.S.C. 2291-4), I hereby certify, with respect to Colombia, that:  (1) interdiction of aircraft reasonably suspected to be primarily engaged in illicit drug trafficking in that country’s airspace is necessary, because of the extraordinary threat posed by illicit...

Much has been said and written this week about recent inflammatory comments made by President Hamid Karzai, head of the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan — an entity widely abbreviated out here as GIRoA. He has publicly railed against "interference" by the West, demanded that the U.N. cease complaining about corruption, even defiantly threatened to abandon GIRoA and join the Taliban. The fact is, GIRoA hardly exists outside of Kabul and where it is extant it is often corrupt. Money from opium and hashish fuel the Taliban, pay for improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that kill and maim Americans...

AOPA and IAOPA reiterate opposition to deadly force against civilian aircraft. Aug. 19 — The White House announced today the resumption of the "Airbridge Denial Program" with Colombia, the U.S. drug interdiction program allowing the use of deadly force against civilian aircraft. This is the first of the "Airbridge" programs to resume after the tragic shoot-down of a missionary aircraft in Peru in 2001. While the White House said that Colombia now has "appropriate procedures to protect against loss of innocent life, AOPA and the International Council of Aircraft Owner and Pilot Associations reiterated opposition to the use of deadly...