06 September 2000U.S. Officials Say Regional Cooperation Key to Helping Colombia
State Department holds seminar on Colombian situation By Eric Green Washington File Staff Writer Washington -- Colombia's neighbors share a "sense of concern" about the drug problem in that Andean nation and seek assurances that the United States is prepared to work with them on a difficult situation that could spread into their countries as well, says Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Pickering. At a special media seminar on Colombia held at the State Department September 6, Pickering, along with other U.S. officials, emphasized two major points: that Colombia's problems represent an Andean and even hemispheric problem in which Colombia's neighbors have a direct and immediate stake; and that the U.S. assistance package for Colombia does not represent a "new Vietnam" that could draw the United States into a combat role against guerilla and paramilitary forces opposed to the Colombian government. Pickering said regional governments are concerned about the situation in Colombia because it is not a question of "whether, but when" drug traffickers will seek to expand their operations into places like Panama, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Brazil to satisfy U.S. consumer demand for cocaine, heroin and other illegal drugs. To keep the drug problem from spreading further, "we need to get a leg up" in Colombia to stop drug traffickers in their tracks, he said. Pickering said there has been considerable misunderstanding about the United States' $1,300-million aid package for Colombia, in that it is wrongly seen as consisting entirely of military support for that country. In fact, Pickering said, the package also includes funds for such goals as increasing the rule of law, protecting human rights, expanding economic development, instituting judicial reform, and fostering peace. The State Department says the U.S. aid package is fully in line with the Clinton Administration's $18,500-million National Drug Control Strategy, which outlines a comprehensive attack on the illicit drugs -- from eliminating production at the source, interdicting drug shipments and prosecuting traffickers, to reducing U.S. consumption through $6,000-million worth of prevention, treatment and rehabilitation programs. Pickering said he regretted what he called the "over-characterization" of the U.S. effort to help Colombia, in that it distorts the real purpose of the aid package. Colombia's situation will not be improved by attacking attempts to help that country, he said, but rather through countries pulling together to confront a shared problem. White House Drug Control Policy Director Barry McCaffrey said helping Colombia is a worthy cause, noting the increased drug production in that country, its deleterious effects on democratic institutions and its potential for spreading into neighboring nations. He said the Colombian army is outgunned by left-wing guerrilla forces who are using illegal drug profits to propagandize their cause on television, to buy brand new camouflage combat uniforms, and to arm themselves with the latest in military technology. McCaffrey said the third Summit of the Americas in Quebec City next April 20-22 should demonstrate how hemispheric heads of state are unified in their concern over Colombia. Another official, Brian Sheridan from the Department of Defense (DOD), said that under the rules of engagement, U.S. forces in Colombia will be allowed to protect themselves if they come under fire, but added that such a scenario is "highly unlikely." "There is great care taken to make sure that our people are in very safe facilities, or at least as safe as they can be in Colombia," Sheridan said. "We only train at major bases. Training is conducted on the bases, not conducted out in the field. The Secretary of Defense [William Cohen] has also made it clear that our folks are not to accompany host nation forces while they engage in counter-drug operations. We have taken every conceivable step we can think of to make sure our folks are in facilities and areas that are as safe as they can be, that they remain [there] to conduct their training." Sheridan said the left-wing guerrillas generally are not interested in attacking bases that are heavily manned with several thousand armed government security forces, which is where U.S. personnel would be stationed. "But like any U.S. military personnel anywhere in the world, if someone shoots at you, you can shoot back at them. I think it's highly unlikely that they will find themselves in such a circumstance," he said. Sheridan said he didn't foresee a situation in which the United States would place significantly more U.S. active-duty military, private contractors, and civilians working for the military in Colombia than the small number (between 200-300, depending on the day) stationed there now. Sheridan, assistant secretary of state for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict, said the DOD contingent consists of about 60 active-duty military permanently assigned to Colombia, along with about six DOD civilians, about 30 private contractors who do work for DOD, and -- on a temporary, rotating basis -- a number of other special forces. Sheridan said he didn't expect the number of people in Colombia to change much. "I would expect some modest increases here and there, but that's a pretty [set] number," he said. Another speaker from the State Department, Rand Beers, rejected suggestions that glyphosate, the herbicide being used in the aerial eradication program against illicit drugs in Colombia, is dangerous to people and the environment. "Let me state that ... the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has tested" the herbicide and found that it kills plants, "which it is designed to do," said Beers, who is assistant secretary of state for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. "We have looked at its effect on soil and on the water system, and it is minimal to non-existent," Beers said. The herbicide "is not perfect, and I'm not making that claim," he added. "But it is not a highly toxic chemical and we believe that the claims on the part of some individuals in Colombia of the severe environmental and human damage may be exaggerated," possibly for political purposes. Other aspects of U.S. assistance to Colombia were outlined by Hattie Babbitt, deputy administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID); Julia Taft, assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration; and Bennett Freeman, deputy assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. Babbitt described the benefits of alternative development programs, funded by USAID to help small farmers cultivate legitimate crops in place of coca and poppy plants, while Taft explained the plight of internally displaced persons in Colombia forced to migrate from their war-torn villages. Freeman addressed human rights issues, which he said are a "central" part of the U.S. aid package for Colombia, noting that "we're continuing to press for very specific, concrete" measures to ensure compliance with human rights standards in Colombia.