Pubdate: Sun, 16 Apr 2000 Source: Washington Post (DC) Copyright: 2000 The Washington Post Company Contact: 1150 15th Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20071 Feedback: http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/edit/letters/letterform.htm Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ Author: Jason Rubadeau Related: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n473/a01.html WHICH WAR ON DRUGS? Regarding Sen. Paul Coverdell's (R-Ga.) April 10 op-ed column on Colombia: Why arm a government that Amnesty International has called "the most abusive in the Western Hemisphere," responsible for 3,500 to 10,000 collateral (read: "innocent") casualties a year? Why does Colombia have to be armed with the latest UH-60 helicopters? Most aviation experts state that for the counter-narcotics role, the upgraded UH-1 is perfectly acceptable and, at one-tenth the price of a new UH-60, a bargain. Finally, if the goal of the war on drugs is to get Americans off illegal drugs, why did the senator vote against the companion bill allocating $1.3 billion for drug treatment? Jason Rubadeau, Calistoga, Calif. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D