US Has Philippine Strategy?
US Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Feb. 22 that the US government would "share intelligence" with the Colombian government. [MH 2/24/02] US State Department spokesperson Richard Boucher confirmed on Feb. 22 that the US was planning to support the Colombian government by providing satellite intelligence information. He also hinted that ways would be sought to get Congress to lift restrictions that currently bar US military anti-drug aid from being used for Colombia's counterinsurgency war. [LJ 2/23/02 from AFP, DPA, Reuters; ALAI-Amlatina 2/22/02]
Columnist Points to Shift in US Position
"While US officials say that US troops will not be drawn into combat in Colombia, the Bush Administration may soon issue a `national security directive' expanding the nature of US military aid to Colombia," warns columnist Andres Oppenheimer in an article published on Feb. 24 in the Miami Herald. Pastrana has asked the US government for permission to use US military equipment to fight the rebels, Oppenheimer points out, and the Colombian government recently changed the FARC's designation from an "insurgent" group to a terrorist organization. Uribe, the candidate most likely to become Colombia's next president, would likely launch a "public relations campaign to sway the US Congress to provide massive counter-insurgency aid to Colombia," Oppenheimer writes.
Oppenheimer: US Likely to Offer Anti-Guerilla Aid
Oppenheimer, who is known for having an inside track on US policy in Latin America, says there is "growing support in Washington" for pursuing a "Philippine strategy" in Colombia. Some 600 US troops are now in the Philippines, officially providing "training" and "advice on the battlefield" to government troops in their war against the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group. "The Bush administration is likely to ask Congress to change the rules and offer both counter-narcotics and anti-guerrilla aid to Colombia," Oppenheimer concludes. "The only questions are how much, and how soon." [MH 2/24/02]
Colombian Military Needs "More Men, Weapons and Money"
The Miami Herald accompanied Oppenheimer's column with a news article by Juan Tamayo, in which he cites analysts in praising improvements made by Colombia's military but emphasizing that it "will need far more men, weapons and money" in order to defeat the FARC. [MH 2/24/02]
From the
Weekly News Update on the Americas (ISSN 1084-922X), published by the Nicaragua Solidarity Network of Greater New York, 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012, 212-674-9499,
wnu@igc.org.
Colombia Needs our Help, and Badly
