Pubdate: Fri, 24 May 2002
Source: Wall Street Journal (US)
Copyright: 2002 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.wsj.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/487
Author: Mary Anastasia O'grady
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)

COLOMBIA'S NEW LEADER WILL FACE A WAR ON TWO FRONTS

The municipality of Bojaya is carved out of rain-drenched jungle in 
Colombia's poorest state, Choco. The sky is often sealed off with 
low-hanging clouds and the Atrato River floods frequently, as does the 
nearby airport in Vigia del Fuerte.

Poor and remote as it is though, the control of Bojaya has immense value. 
It lies in a main corridor for narcotics and arms trafficking. This is why, 
on May 1, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia attacked its 
archenemy, the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia. As bullets flew, 
locals ran for cover. Hundreds sought refuge in a church. On May 2, a FARC 
rocket bomb hit the sanctuary, killing 119 peasants and some 40 children.

One might expect such an atrocity to provoke outrage against the FARC 
guerrillas. And perhaps even produce a pledge of solidarity from the 
civilized world in support of the beleaguered Colombian government. This is 
terrorism, after all, fueled in part by the voracious U.S.-European 
appetite for illicit cocaine.

But 22 U.S. congressmen -- including John Conyers, Maxine Waters, Donald 
Payne and Carrie Meek -- seem to see the incident as a chance to continue 
prosecuting the Clinton State Department's war against the Colombian 
military, the only protection Colombians have against FARC depredations. 
During the Clinton years, U.S. policy not only refused to help Colombia 
make its military more effective, but it pressured the government to remove 
the institution's best leaders whenever FARC sympathizers made charges 
against them.

Now Mr. Conyers et al have sent a letter to Colombian president Andres 
Pastrana asking for "explanations" for the military's "lamentable inaction" 
in the massacre. They also complain that when the military did arrive, it 
engaged in "indiscriminately bombing" even though only one death was 
reported. The letter "focuses on the regrettable inaction and reported 
actions of the Colombian Armed Forces." So the Colombian army catches hell 
when it acts, and when it doesn't. That's what you call a no-win situation.

The United Nations -- which recently gave an agricultural award to Haiti's 
Marxist president Jean Bertrand Aristide -- is making similar noises.

There is either ignorance here about the realities of rural Colombia and 
guerrilla warfare -- which wouldn't be surprising -- or the army's critics 
are again carrying water for the FARC. In either case, Colombia is not 
being well served by international efforts to micromanage its war. If 
Colombia doesn't bring out some heavy artillery in the public relations 
battle against the FARC, the left in the U.S. and Europe will continue to 
nibble it to death.

On Sunday Alvaro Uribe will probably be elected president of Colombia. If 
he wins, it will be because he takes a tough stance against the guerrillas. 
Should he keep his campaign promises, Colombia is in for a rough, but 
necessary, fight that is likely to include more guerrilla violence in urban 
areas.

In running the war, Mr. Uribe will also have to defend against the FARC's 
propaganda campaign. The military will be under constant international 
assault from the likes of California Congresswoman Waters -- a fan of Fidel 
Castro and a defender of Lori Berenson, convicted in a Peruvian court of 
helping "Shining Path" terrorists. The question remains as to whether Mr. 
Uribe is smart enough and tough enough to outfight and outpropagandize the 
left and keep Colombians unified behind the struggle. The Bojaya incident 
is a good example of the challenges he'll face.

The congressional complaints about Bojaya are gratuitous. Apparently the 
Colombian minister of defense had been warned of an impending battle. But 
the undermanned and ill-equipped army constantly gets "alerts" from all 
over. Some originate with the guerrillas themselves to set up ambushes. 
Others are real. But it's tough to tell which is which. A mere 55,000 
troops cannot answer all calls.

There is also the problem of defending rugged terrain. Police in remote 
outposts are often sitting ducks. In March 2000, the FARC assaulted the 
police station at Vigia del Fuerte, killing or kidnapping all the officers. 
The post was never re-manned. Moreover, under U.S. law, if the U.S. has 
intelligence that would assist the army in fighting the guerrillas, it 
cannot share it.

In the case of Bojaya, FARC gunners controlled the only dry areas that 
could be used for landing aircraft. Once there was a decision to answer the 
call, the army had to approach by river. A ship in Cartagena had to be 
brought to the river and troops had to be moved in. A navy flotilla sailed 
from the town of Riosucio but because of sandbars could only navigate the 
river by daylight. It finally arrived on May 7, days after the massacre.

FARC propaganda, abetted by either sloppy or tendentious reporting in some 
news organizations, is also targeting Mr. Uribe, attempting, among other 
things, to link him to drugs . Most notable are repeated references to his 
former aide, Pedro Juan Moreno, whose company GMP once had a chemical 
shipment impounded by the Drug Enforcement Agency. After an investigation, 
a DEA judge ruled, in 1999, that the evidence showed "that the suspended 
chemicals will not likely be used for illicit purposes. Specifically, GMP 
is a reputable company in business in Colombia for over 60 years. Further, 
the company's president is knowledgeable of the country's drug producing 
and trafficking problems from his past government service. He credibly 
testified about the anti-drug effort taken by his governmental office and 
his commitment to these actions." Yet despite the two-year old DEA ruling 
the New York Times on May 18 repeated the allegation without noting the 
outcome of the case.

The Uribe campaign has been inept at dealing with the foreign press. It 
doesn't return phone calls and has bungled responses to unsubstantiated 
accusations. If Mr. Uribe is elected he'll have to do better. Otherwise, 
the FARC, with the complicity of the U.S. and Europe, will run the war 
outside Colombia, and may well defeat him.
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MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager