News

USIS Washington 
File

06 August 1999

Administration, Lawmakers Agree Anti-Drug Efforts in Colombia Need Resources

(McCaffrey, Beers, Sheridan, Ledwith, Shifter, Burton, Gilman testify)
(950)
By Bruce Carey
USIA Staff Writer

Washington -- "Go where the drugs are." That is the advice Clinton
administration officials and key members of Congress offer as the best
means of stopping the flow of illicit drugs from Colombia and other
producing countries.

White House drug policy director Barry McCaffrey, Assistant Secretary
of State Rand Beers, and other officials told a panel of the House of
Representative Government Reform and Oversight Committee that
demand-reduction through education, treatment, and law enforcement
must be accompanied by allocating significant resources to eradicate
crops and interdict trafficking to end the drug scourge in the Western
Hemisphere and the whole world.

Destroy as much of the drug harvest as possible where it is grown
before it can be transported and capture the rest while it is moving,
the officials said in testimony to the Criminal Justice, Drug Policy,
and Human Resources Subcommittee August 6.

Two key House members -- International Relations chair Ben Gilman and
Government Reform and Oversight Chair Dan Burton -- voiced strong
criticism of the Clinton administration for failure to support Bogota
adequately in that effort. But all the witnesses agreed that the
effort is essential to keep the drug menace from further endangering
the security of the United States and democratic governments
everywhere.

McCaffrey said that cocaine production is "exploding," drawing focus
on the need for eradication and interdiction. He declared that the
entire national life of Colombia is under "brutal attack" by drug
cartels, who corrupt democratic institutions and bankroll insurgents.
Enhancing Bogota's ability to respond is the way to stop drug
supplies, regardless of the number of forces involved, McCaffrey
asserted, adding that Colombia has economic, political, social and
security challenges that must be resolved if drug trafficking is to be
stopped.

"The will to cooperate is strong. However, the police, military,
judicial and intelligence capacity to act in a meaningful way is
weak," he said. Strengthening Colombia's democratic institutions is
basic to victory over drugs, he noted.

Beers said that while the United States supports the peace process in
Colombia as well as current anti-drug programs, it is also necessary
to back the strategy as it moves to "new directions to stay on top of
a very dynamic narcotics trade." The administration is "currently
examining the needs of the Colombian military forces involved in
counternarcotics and searching for better ways to steer the
appropriate resources toward them," he said.

Beers said that active aerial interdiction program "is absolutely
necessary.

"In Peru, we have seen the dramatic effect such a program can have on
the economics of the drug trade, and we would like to recreate the
effect in Colombia." He observed that "the Colombian air force is
willing, but requires considerable assistance to carry out the
mission."

Gilman's critique focused largely on that aspect of the program.
"Colombia is bigger than Texas and Kansas combined. Its rugged terrain
makes operations difficult for law enforcement. Accordingly, air
mobility for anti-drug operations is critical. The courageous
Colombian National Police ... have estimated the need for 100
helicopters to do the job right. Ninety percent of their anti-drug
operations require helicopters.

"Today, the CNP has fewer than 25 helicopters operating," said Gilman.
"We in Congress have appropriated money to purchase, and directed
delivery of, over 30 new, high-performance, long-range, high-altitude
helicopters for the CNP to eradicate drugs at the source. To date, the
administration has delivered only two."

Burton testified that the administration "is finally recognizing the
need for a source-country strategy. We have gotten an unbalanced
approach, heavy on domestic treatment and prevention and light on
interdiction and eradication."

He complained that "this administration has promised ... more than 40
new helicopters. Why can't the State Department get these helicopters
to General Serrano?"

Defense Department official Brian Sheridan cited the success of the
air eradication and interdiction program in Peru, telling the
lawmakers that the Pentagon is working to upgrade Colombia's A-37
aircraft, "which is the key" to the air program. But the Pentagon also
assists Colombia in the river interdiction program, which employs 18
boats designed to stop drug traffic, and which will eventually have a
fleet of 45. Ground efforts and intelligence activities also are part
of the strategy, he said.

The Drug Enforcement Administration's William Ledwith reminded the
subcommittee that drug traffickers are criminals and must be treated
as such, regardless of anti-drug strategy. "We will continue to work
with our partners in Colombia ... but the ultimate test of success
will come when we bring to justice the drug lords who control their
vast empires of crime and which bring misery to the nations in which
they operate. They must be arrested, convicted, and sentenced -- or
extradited to the United States to face American justice," he said.

Michel Shifter of the Inter-American Dialogue was the only
subcommittee witness not from the administration or Congress. He
declared that political consensus is what Colombia needs most. Only
after the government of President Andres Pastrana has succeeded in
achieving reconciliation can a strategy be articulated against the
drug cartels. U.S. policy, said Shifter, oversimplifies by regarding
insurgent forces and drug cartels as the same basic enemy. "Important
consequences flow from failing to distinguish between guerrillas ...
and drug producers," he pointed out, arguing that the two enemies
"cannot be pursued at the same time."

"It is crucial, however, that the support provided by the United
States and the international community be consistent with and help
reinforce the strategic purposes set by the Pastrana government,"
Shifter warned.