Pubdate: Thu, 31 Aug 2000
Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL)
Copyright: 2000 The Sun-Times Co.
Contact:  401 N. Wabash, Chicago IL 60611
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Author: Karen DeYoung

'NO VIETNAM' IN COLOMBIA

CARTAGENA, Colombia--Declaring "this is not Vietnam," President Clinton 
visited Colombia on Wednesday to assure Americans and Colombians that U.S. 
support for the country's drug-fighting efforts will not lead the United 
States into a combat role against the country's leftist guerrillas.

Clinton's trip was designed as a symbol of U.S. backing for President 
Andres Pastrana rather than a detailed discussion of the $1.3 billion U.S. 
aid package for Colombia. But sensitive to reservations at home and in 
Colombia, Clinton went out of his way to underline that the heavy economic 
and political commitment will not expand into military intervention.

"There won't be American involvement in a shooting war because they don't 
want it and we don't want it," Clinton said at a joint news conference with 
Pastrana. "This is not Vietnam. Neither is it Yankee imperialism."

Instead, he said in a show of personal and political support for Pastrana, 
"we are proud to stand with our friend and our neighbor" in backing 
Colombia's social and economic development programs along with the nearly 
$1 billion in military equipment and counter-drug training that make up the 
bulk of the aid.

Clinton's brief time in Cartagena was marked by tight security, including 
more than 4,500 Colombian police, soldiers and sailors. Heavily armed boats 
sat in Cartagena's waterways, sharpshooters were stationed atop the 16th 
century city's ancient walls, and police lined the streets. Police said 
they discovered a 4.4-pound bomb several blocks from where Clinton was 
scheduled to pass, but added that it was stuffed with "propaganda" rather 
than destructive material. Three men were reported arrested.

A congressional delegation accompanying the president was led by House 
Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), who pledged "a commitment for a long 
period of time" to aid Colombia, presumably beyond the current two-year 
package. Hastert was instrumental in pushing the aid package through 
Congress, despite misgivings by some who feared the United States would get 
drawn into the guerrilla conflict and help an army long criticized for 
human rights abuses.
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