Columns:: Worth Repeating

since 12/15/98

Columns::October 22, 2001

Worth repeating

Adam Isacson, senior associate at the Center for International Policy in Washington, D.C., spoke about U.S. policy in Colombia as part of the university-wide events for Hispanic Heritage Month. He focused mainly on “Plan Colombia”--developed by Colombia’s current president to bring stability to the country. Some excerpts:
“The peace process has not made any progress and Plan Colombia is surely to blame for that. Finally, another warning sign about this tragedy is that none of our allies seem to support it. . . .
“The first thing we should do is clean up our house. So much of this is fueled by the demand for drugs in the United States. It’s hard to find a Colombian--left, right or center--who won’t agree with that. . . .
“The second thing we have to do is alternative development. . . . This means talking to local leaders, mayors and peasant leaders. . . . They know what products flourish in the areas where they live, they know what their populations are capable of producing. . . . According to them, the debate is should this just be an anti-drug policy or should we really start getting serious about fighting guerrillas. . . .
“Probably, sometime in the next several months, [there will be] a request for supplemental aid to help other countries fight terrorism. Will Colombia be included in that? Will we see the drug war fade away and have an anti-terrorist mission take its place? Possibly. That might mean not leaving U.S. assistance . . . to the drug struggle, but broadening it, in fact, to help them fight these terrorists all over the country, which could be a rather large commitment if we don’t watch . . . and my fear is that people may not be watching.”

--Ana Maria Florez

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