Index

Cohen Calls for Cooperative Counterdrug Effort 


By Linda D. Kozaryn
American Forces Press Service

MANAUS, Brazil, Oct. 18, 2000 -- Nations of the Western
Hemisphere need to band together in a cooperative effort to
help combat drug trafficking, Defense Secretary William S.
Cohen said here Oct. 17.

Speaking to about 25 national defense ministers at the
fourth Defense Ministerial of the Americas, Cohen called
drug trafficking a cancer that will spread if left
untreated. He said the drug trade, insurgency and
paramilitary forces threaten Colombia, one of South
America's oldest democracies.

"Working together, we hope to help Colombia in their time
of need and prevent the conflict from shifting Colombia's
problems to its neighbors," he said in his prepared text.
Organized crime will flourish and spread whenever huge
profits can be made with little risk of apprehension,
prosecution, conviction or incarceration, he said.

He pointed out that the United States spends 82 percent of
its national drug control budget to reduce the U.S. demand
for drugs. It also helps Colombia fight drug traffickers by
providing military training, transportation and equipment,
he said.

Congress has imposed limits on the number of U.S. military
and civilian personnel involved in the region, however,
Cohen noted. "We do not, under any circumstances, intend to
become involved militarily in Colombia," the secretary
stressed.

"Each country throughout the Americas must decide for
itself what role, if any, it will play," he said. "Some may
choose to provide information support. Some may choose (to
provide) financial support. Others may decide it's not in
their interest to take any action."

Drug trafficking was but one of the common challenges
facing the Western Hemisphere that Cohen mentioned. In the
wake of the Oct. 12 terrorist bombing of the destroyer USS
Cole in Yemen, Cohen also urged the defense ministers to
defend against terrorism, particularly in cyberspace.

"I just want you to think about the prospect of any
dedicated professional -- not to mention teen-age hacker --
who could conceivably shut down your air traffic management
control system ... ," he said. "Or someone who could shut
down your power distribution system or close down your
financial centers with the click of a button. Information
assurance is something we all need to talk about."

Since the last Western Hemisphere defense ministerial in
1998, Cohen said, defense officials have made "astonishing
progress" toward furthering cooperation. The United States
and other countries have joined forces to provide relief
from Hurricane Mitch and other natural disasters. Local
officials have resolved long-standing border disputes
between Ecuador and Peru as well as between Argentina and
Chile.

"We want to continue to build upon relationships that have
been established, to reduce the tensions and look for ways
we can tear down walls of mistrust and suspicion and
animosity," Cohen said. He called on the ministers to find
ways to build a common approach to deal with common
threats.

The 34 democracies in the Western Hemisphere share a common
vision of promoting peace, economic and social justice and
international cooperation, Cohen said. Their goals, he
noted, are to advance regional security operation, increase
civilian defense expertise, encourage democratic civil-
military relations and reinforce the trend toward civilian
leadership in security affairs.

"I urge each country to accelerate its commitment to
achieving these goals and applaud the progress already
achieved," Cohen said in his text.


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