DATE=3/23/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CONGRESS-COLOMBIA (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-260522
BYLINE=PAULA WOLFSON
DATELINE=CAPITOL HILL
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: President Clinton's request for one-point-
three-billion dollars to combat drug trafficking in
Colombia is making its way through the U-S congress.
Most lawmakers agree on the need to help the Colombian
government. But as V-O-A's Paula Wolfson reports,
many have concerns about the president's plan.
TEXT: The chairman of the House Armed Services
Committee summed up the feeling on Capitol Hill:
/// Spence Act ///
The question is not if the United States should
help Colombia, but how.
/// End Act ///
At a hearing on President Clinton's Colombia proposal,
South Carolina Republican Floyd Spence challenged a
group of top officials from the Pentagon and the State
Department.
/// Spence Act ///
Is the administration's proposal to
significantly expand the legal authority of the
Department of Defense to cooperate in Colombia
necessary and justified?
/// End Act ///
Other committee members raised the specter of another
Vietnam conflict: a situation where a small group of
U-S advisors expands rapidly and becomes immersed in a
civil war. Missouri Democrat Ike Skelton was blunt.
/// Skelton Act ///
Are we on the verge of committing our men and
women to a major long-term military effort? Are
we becoming involved in a counter-insurgency
effort in the name of counter-narcotics?
/// End Act ///
The top U-S military commander for the Americas
offered an impassioned response. General Charles
Wilhelm recalled his own years in combat in Southeast
Asia.
/// Wilhelm Act ///
The lieutenants and captains who struggled and
suffered through Vietnam are today's generals.
If another Vietnam comes, we will recognize it.
And we have absolutely no desire to repeat that
experience.
/// End Act ///
The State Department's top official for international
narcotics and law enforcement reinforced the general's
message. Rand Beers said the Colombian government is
strongly supportive, and the Colombian armed services
will handle all field military operations. Mr. Beers
then warned lawmakers of the risks of doing nothing.
/// Beers Act ///
If we do not do anything now, what we can
contemplate is that the 25 percent increase in
coca cultivation is going to continue. The
amount of drugs available to the United States
and the rest of the world is going to increase.
/// End Act ////
New statistics from the White House office of drug
control policy show cocaine use in the United States
has stabilized in the last year. But the report also
says prices for both cocaine and heroin have fallen to
record lows and, despite the best efforts of law
enforcement officials, remain widely available.
(Signed)
NEB/PW/JP
23-Mar-2000 12:58 PM EDT (23-Mar-2000 1758 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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