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13 October 2004

State Dept. Explains Need for More U.S. Personnel in Colombia

Says more aid will help in Colombian fight against narco-terrorists

By Eric Green
Washington File Staff Writer

ashington -- Additional U.S. personnel are needed in Colombia to help in that country's progress against narco-terrorists and expansion of development programs to boost economic opportunities, says the U.S. State Department.

In an October 12 statement, the State Department said the U.S. Congress's new authorization to raise limits on the number of military personnel and U.S. contractors allowed in Colombia will help the country sustain the current "high tempo of operations and overall progress" being made in the Andean nation.

The State Department cautioned, however, that press reports about the authorization have mistakenly implied that because the cap on U.S. military personnel has been raised, the additional personnel will "automatically" start moving into the country. Increased personnel flows into Colombia, the State Department said, will depend on a number of other factors, including funding and operational planning.

The Congress approved legislation October 9 authorizing the doubling of U.S. military personnel permitted in Colombia to 800 and increasing the number of American citizens working for private contractors in Colombia from 400 to 600. The State Department said the authorization, which awaits a presidential signature, will be used to continue U.S. support for Plan Colombia, an initiative launched by the Colombian government to fight Colombia's illegal drug trade, protect human rights, and expand economic development.

The State Department said that in the past, the United States has had to delay or cancel certain logistical, administrative, training, and technical support in Colombia due to the current caps on the number of U.S. personnel in the country, which were put in place in the year 2000. The raised caps on personnel will allow for "greater flexibility and more efficient planning" of U.S. support to Colombia, according to the State Department.

The State Department noted that activities of U.S. personnel in Colombia include training and equipping human rights-vetted counter-narcotics and counterterrorism military and police forces. Other programs include planning assistance and intelligence support, upgrading Colombian aircraft, infrastructure development, and radar programs.

The State Department also emphasized that U.S. military personnel in Colombia do not engage in combat. Such activity is prohibited and the Bush administration did not seek to change that prohibition, the State Department said.

U.S. civilian contractors in Colombia work for the U.S. Departments of State, Defense, and Justice, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The State Department said the contractors carry out programs to provide assistance to the Colombian government and civil society in the areas of counter-narcotics and counterterrorism, alternative development, law enforcement, institutional strengthening, judicial reform, human rights, humanitarian assistance for displaced persons, local governance, anti-corruption, conflict management and peace promotion, and the rehabilitation of child soldiers.

The State Department said the U.S. government employs civilian contractors because the "flexibility they allow and the skills they provide" are often not available elsewhere.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)