Pubdate: Mon, 03 Apr 2000 Source: Florida Times-Union (FL) Copyright: The Florida Times-Union 2000 Contact: http://www.times-union.com/ Forum: http://cafe.jacksonville.com/cafesociety.html Cited: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n416/a03.html COLOMBIA: THE DRUG WAR Another Washington mystery may have been solved. If a Newsweek story is accurate, the flip-flop by President Clinton on the drug war in Colombia can be attributed to a factor that almost always a major role in this administration's decisions: domestic politics. Last summer, the White House seemed oblivious to the raging war in Colombia, although some members in Congress were aching for action in the form of U.S. aid. Then the pollsters came. Mark Mellman, Democratic pollster, told Clinton that the public was likely to blame Democrats for a perceived increase in drug use, Newsweek said. The pollster said a majority of the people would support greatly increased funding for efforts to cut off drugs at the source. Thereafter, Clinton announced a $1.3 billion aid package for Colombia. Predictably, it soon began to swell and now is at $9 billion, with funds for Kosovo and other items included. But the situation in Colombia is murky. U.S. Sen. Bob Graham of Florida, who visited there recently, said the drug lords and insurgent guerrillas are so intermixed it is difficult to tell them apart. Others insist the primary problem is demand, not supply. Americans want illegal drugs, so Colombia supplies them. Politicians and journalists who oppose the drug industry in Colombia routinely are murdered. At times the country appears to be near anarchy, and it is questionable whether aid from the United States would have much effect. The other danger is that intervention might lead to direct involvement by U.S. military personnel, who could end up in the middle of a civil war. Caution and careful consideration of the potential benefits and consequences of U.S. involvement in Colombia are needed, not knee-jerk responses to public opinion polls. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D