President Bush tries to justify $billions more for war in Colombia

Once again President George Bush is trying to rationalize his empire building ambitions with “Plan Colombia.” As in Iraq and Afghanistan, he is trying to remake the South American country in his own image and likeness. As in Iraq and Afghanistan, the casualties are local combatants and civilians caught in the crossfire. There are U.S. advisors and military personnel on the ground in Colombia. Washington poured more than $4 billion into Colombia since 2000 and most of that is military aid.

According to Knight Ridder Newspapers, Nov. 18, 2005:

“- Declaring a key victory, U.S. drug czar John Walters on Thursday said cocaine has become more expensive and less pure on U.S. streets this year -- the first sign that billions of dollars in counter-drug aid to Colombia may be having an impact.
Walters' aides said the new data reverses three years of steadily declining cocaine prices, which had perplexed policymakers as Washington poured more than $4 billion into Colombia since 2000 as part of an effort to increase Bogota's ability to curb drug production and trafficking.”
Also according to the report:
“While a gram of cocaine cost just over $120 this April, the price rose steadily to more than $170 in September, according to the Drug Control Policy data. And cocaine purity -- another key indicator of availability -- fell 15 percent between February and September. The data showed similar trends in the price and purity of Colombian heroin reaching U.S. streets.”

Yet for this “huge victory,” if in fact it is one at all, there has been a heavy price to pay. Spike, sprayed from planes to destroy coca plants, has destroyed other crops and foliage besides. The guerrilla war, which really has little to do with the coca problem, has intensified.

According to the BBC News, 12 November 2005:

” It also has a highly stratified society where the traditionally rich families of Spanish descent have benefited from this wealth to a far greater degree than the greatest portion of the population, who are mostly of mixed race. With few avenues for social mobility, this provided a natural constituency for left-wing insurgents.
But the lucrative returns from drugs and kidnapping now dominate the rebels' agenda, and have largely replaced ideological motivations. Peace talks with the main rebel group collapsed in 2002.
At the other end of the political spectrum are right-wing paramilitary groups, who are sometimes in the pay of drug cartels and landowners, and backed by elements in the army and the police.
Efforts are under way to demobilise the organisations, which have been particularly active in the north-west where they have targeted human rights workers, peasants suspected of helping left-wing guerrillas, street children and other marginal groups.”

It also said that crime is now the main cause of death in Colombia and “The US, a key market for Colombian cocaine, has bankrolled the fight against the trade to the tune of billions of dollars. But critics say "Plan Colombia" has had little impact on the supply and price of drugs.”

So the Bush administration will soon want to spend $ billions escalating one more war we really don’t need.

The Guerrilla groups are:

FARC-EP (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - People’s Army), the largest group, with more than 10,000 troops.

ELN (National Liberation Army) is the second largest, probably less than half the size of the FARC.


EPL, The Popular Liberation Army, a very small organization, possibly with less than 500 troops, but having ties to the Communist Party of Colombia (Marxist-Leninist).