COLOMBIANS CAUGHT UP IN US WAR

COLOMBIA is on the brink of civil war. Its 40 million people
represent the ultimate in collateral damage. Their nation has become
caught up in America's war against drugs. And all the indications are
that the landslide victory of Alvaro Uribe as Colombia's
President-elect will do nothing to turn the tide. On the contrary, as
yesterday's bomb blast in Bogota showed, no-one is safe in the
scramble for control of the massive drug trade with America.

Mr Uribe's election could prove to be very bad news for America.
Already there are signs that President George W. Bush has Colombia in
his sights for an expansion of his war on terror. Drugs and terror
are conflated in the case of Colombia and Mr Uribe appears happy to
welcome greater United States involvement. The result could be
American troops engaged in a land war with the potential for
never-ending casualty lists.

This is not to suggest that Mr Uribe's defeat by any of the other
candidates in the presidential election would have provided much
better news. The region is a disaster area. Colombia is a product of
the apparently insatiable appetite of Americans for mind-bending
drugs. The country supplies 80 per cent of the cocaine consumed in
America. Prohibition policies have done nothing to curb the appetite.
There are more illicit drugs being consumed in the US than ever
before.

The prohibition policy has had the effect of increasing the cost of
the drug and therefore the return to the traffickers. The trade has
boomed so that countries like Colombia are totally corrupted by drug
money. Colombian guerrillas and paramilitaries are currently on a
killing rampage as they fight for control of the countryside and the
national trade. Homicides and kidnappinges are commonplace. No fewer
than three Colombians are murdered on average every hour.

The economy is in chaos with millions unemployed. The immediate
prospect for a return to a productive economic regime is nil. Nothing
will change while the nation remains the source of America's
addiction.

However, Mr Bush has no plans to change the questionable policies at
home. He remains steadfast in his promotion of the "just say no"
philosophy. He is pushing members of Congress to change the rules and
allow overt military backing for the Colombian Government's war
effort. Mr Uribe is also favouring the war option over earlier
attempts to negotiate with the rebels. And he has signalled that he
would warmly welcome American assistance.

There may be some unintended justice in this. Since Colombia would
not be in its current mess without the American craving for drugs, it
could be argued that America has prime responsibility for cleaning it
up. However, it is highly unlikely that America's military
intervention would produce a successful outcome. The growing presence
of foreign troops inevitably changes the character of a conflict and
the drug barons would be quick to press the buttons of patriotism to
rally the ignorant to their cause.

Moreover, human rights advocates are deeply concerned that Mr Uribe,
whose campaign was endorsed by the right-wing paramilitaries of the
United Defence Forces of Colombia, could make matters worse.

The Democrats in the United States are increasingly concerned that
the White House will commit the nation to vast expense and a steady
escalation of American participation on the ground. That way, they
say, lies the Vietnam experience. However, short of international
intervention it is difficult to see any real progress being made to
quell the growing chaos.