Pubdate: Tue, 27 Mar 2001 Source: Washington Times (DC) Copyright: 2001 News World Communications, Inc. Page: 16 Contact: 202-832-8285 Website: http://www.washtimes.com/ Author: Cass Ballenger, U.S. House of Representatives 'CLEANING OUT' STATE DEPARTMENT WON'T HELP COLOMBIA I am writing in response to your March 16 editorial "Clean the State Department house," in which you call on President Bush to fire Anne W. Patterson, U.S. ambassador to Colombia, and Rand Beers, assistant secretary of state for international narcotics and law enforcement. Although I have sometimes criticized aspects of U.S. policy toward Colombia and the Department of State's handling of specific issues, I do not understand why your newspaper undertook this personal attack on these individuals. I believe that both under trying circumstances have acted to carry out a bipartisan policy on which Congress and the Clinton administration agreed and which enjoys continued support from the Bush administration. By and large, our policy in Colombia is working. In the wake of the recent aerial eradication campaign, it is increasingly clear that we are turning the corner and should stay the course. There certainly is room for honest disagreements over the implementation of our policy in Colombia. There ought not be any room, however, for the sort of one-sided, ad hominem bad-mouthing contained in your editorial. Having conducted a number of oversight trips to Colombia, I can tell you that Mrs. Patterson has done an outstanding job as the president's personal representative to that troubled Andean nation. She has undertaken serious efforts to improve the operations of our embassy and has added new vigor to the prosecution of the drug war. In fact, Mrs. Patterson has led the way in the ongoing coca crop eradication efforts, which resulted in the destruction of thousands of acres of coca. Mrs. Patterson is tough and dedicated; she is the right person to fill one of the world's most difficult posts. The situation in Colombia is as complex and dire as any I have ever known in all my years in Congress. The consensus that backs our policy is delicate. We must act responsibly to invigorate our national resolve to oppose illegal drugs. Calling for heads to roll does not help. Summarily removing Mr. Beers and Mrs. Patterson, as you suggest, would loudly and clearly send the wrong signal to the drug traffickers. I invite you to join me, instead, in calling on our leaders, including President Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld and my own colleagues on both sides of the aisle in Congress, to work together to pursue a sustained strategy that will lead to victory over the drug lords who peddle their poison to our young people. Cass Ballenger, Chairman, Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Committee on International Relations, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington Editor's Note: The editorial referred to appeared in the Current News Supplement, March 19, 2001. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake