McConnell raises questions about proposed Colombian aid

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Friday, 25 February 2000
By Nancy Zuckerbrod

WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., expressed concern at a hearing about a proposed plan by the Clinton administration to spend about $1.6 billion in supplemental aid on drug-fighting efforts in Colombia.

"The more the administration spends in Colombia, the more coca is grown," McConnell, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, said at Thursday's hearing.

Cocaine and heroin production have soared in Colombia as leftist rebels and right-wing paramilitary groups protect the trade.

"This problem directly affects the United States as drug trafficking and abuse cause enormous social, health and financial damage in our communities," Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas R. Pickering testified. "Over 80 percent of the world's supply of cocaine is grown, processed or transported through Colombia.

But the proposed two-year aid package, of which a small portion would be spent in neighboring countries, may not be the best solution, McConnell said. He and other lawmakers said an aid package must have a regional approach and must use new strategies to combat the groups that are protecting the trade.

More than half of the funds in President Clinton's package would finance a Colombian military push into southern regions where drug crops are expanding most rapidly under guerrilla protection. U.S. military personnel would train the counternarcotics battalions, which has prompted some concerns on Capitol Hill.

"Who goes in if this thing blows up?" Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, asked Gen. Charles Wilhelm, commander of the U.S. Southern Command.

"Tell me this is not a Vietnam again," Stevens said.

Wilhelm, who said he served in Vietnam, said it was not the same. "I think I'll know it when I see it again," he responded.

The Colombian military has strong links to paramilitary organizations, which routinely commit human rights violations, Robin Kirk, a researcher for Human Rights Watch testified. The U.S.-based organization released a report Wednesday documenting some of those links.

"We want there to be strict human rights conditions attached to any legislation," Kirk said.

McConnell said he was considering making aid conditional on efforts by the Colombian government to make it easier to try military personnel in civilian courts.

Pickering said he opposed such an effort.

"It's unnecessary to condition the legislation," Pickering said, adding that Colombian President Andres Pastrana is taking steps to weaken the paramilitary groups.

While Pastrana may be showing good will, that is not enough, Kirk said.

"We've heard these promises before," she said. "Results on the ground are key."