SOUTHCOM CHIEF MEETS DADE LEADERS

The Pentagon's new commander-in-chief for U.S. military operations in
Latin America said Tuesday that his priorities will include
implementing Plan Colombia and insuring that Southern Command
headquarters remain in Miami.

Marine Gen. Peter Pace, 54, made his remarks in a luncheon meeting with
business leaders hosted by The Herald, four days after he replaced Gen.
Charles Wilhelm, a fellow Marine.

Southcom, which supervises most U.S. military activities in Latin
America and the Caribbean, moved to Miami from Panama three years ago.
Wilhelm has asked Congress through the Army, which administers Pentagon
property, to buy the now-temporary headquarters near Miami
International Airport for $40 million. Pace said he is supporting that
request.

On Plan Colombia, the general was careful to stress that the U.S.
military has only a limited role in President Andres Pastrana's
overarching $7.5 billion plan aimed at undermining the insurgency,
linked to narco-trafficking, that has corrupted his country. In all,
the United States has contributed $1.3 billion.

STATE DEPARTMENT

Much of the program is being supervised by the State Department,
including the provision of helicopters for counternarcotics operations
and programs to bolster Bogota's democratic institutions.

Pace, who served as a rifleman in Vietnam, said he was satisfied that
U.S. involvement in the Colombian conflict would not be similar to the
Vietnam war, in part because U.S. forces in Colombia could not
accompany Colombian anti-drug battalions on their missions.

Instead, the trainers -- who number about 100 -- remain behind in huge
Colombian military bases while local forces go on drug-eradication
operations.

Pace also said he has yet to meet Pastrana but would travel to Colombia
in coming days, his first swing through Latin America as commander in
chief. The trip will also make stops in Argentina, Brazil and Chile.

TO JUDGE SUCCESS

Former supervisor of Marines in the Southern Command region, Pace also
said he would judge whether Plan Colombia is successful based on the
performance of U.S. troops in providing helicopter and anti-drug
training to the Colombians.

By a larger measure, he said, the program should be judged on a range
of assistance provided by the United States -- including to Colombian
schools, health clinics and monetary reform.

Luncheon guests at The Herald included: University of Miami President
Edward "Tad" Foote; St. Thomas University President the Rev. Msgr.
Franklyn M. Casale; Totalbank Chairman Adrienne Arsht; and County
Manager Merrett Stierheim.