Colombia Needs our Help, and Badly
US House Pushes Flexible Aid
On Mar. 6, the US House of Representatives passed a non-binding bipartisan resolution inviting President George W. Bush to send a bill to Congress that would change existing laws to allow more flexible use of US military aid, currently restricted to anti- drug operations. The resolution was sponsored by Reps. Henry Hyde (R-IL) and Tom Lantos (D-CA). The same day, US Secretary of State Colin Powell confirmed that the Bush administration might ask Congress to lift restrictions on the aid to help the Colombian government fight leftist rebels and rightwing paramilitary forces. The Colombian government has admitted that some military officers are backing the rightwing paramilitaries, but insists these links are individual and not institutional. [BBC News 3/7/02; Reuters 3/7/02; La Jornada (Mexico) 3/7/02 from AFP, DPA, Reuters]
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.
