HELP COLOMBIA

Our Position: Colombia Needs Military Aid From The United States To
Ease Crisis.

President George W. Bush has asked Congress to allow U.S. military
assistance for Colombia as it confronts an increasingly desperate and
violent internal rebellion. The president's request is well timed and
well structured. It deserves congressional approval.

Colombia has been battling rebels for decades, but its civil war has
escalated dangerously this year. In February, peace talks broke down
between the government and the largest of three guerrilla groups
operating in the country, the 17,000-member Revolutionary Armed Forces
of Colombia. Since then, the FARC has kidnapped dozens of officials,
including a presidential candidate, and launched a wave of deadly
terrorist attacks on civilians in cities across the country.

The Bush administration has asked Congress for $35 million in
emergency anti-terrorism aid and $572 million in long-term help. While
the United States has provided more than $1 billion in aid to Colombia
in recent years, that money has been limited to fighting drug
trafficking. But illicit profits from the drug trade are the main
source of money for the FARC and the two other guerrilla groups. It
has grown more and more difficult -- and pointless -- to try to
separate the war on drugs from the war on terrorism in the country.

Colombian President Andres Pastrana, who has asked for U.S. military
aid, is hardly a warmonger. He was elected in 1998 on a promise to
pursue peace with the rebels. He reluctantly abandoned the peace
process earlier this year after FARC guerrillas continued to mount
terrorist attacks despite ongoing negotiations. Now he recognizes that
democracy in his country is at risk.

Colombia's crisis comes at a dangerous time throughout Latin America.
Argentina is on the verge of economic collapse. Venezuela, led by the
volatile Hugo Chavez, remains politically shaky after an abortive coup
earlier this month. If Colombia falls, it could drag down other
countries with it. Then the United States might not be able to avoid a
much more expensive -- and extensive -- role in the region.

Opponents of military aid for Colombia fear the United States could be
sucked into a Vietnam-type quagmire. The Bush proposal includes
safeguards intended to prevent that from happening. The administration
has pledged not to exceed a limit of 400 U.S. military advisers in the
country and not to send any combat troops. The administration also has
shown a welcome sensitivity to human-rights concerns in Colombia. U.S.
military aid will depend on a certification from the State Department
that the Colombian army is not violating human rights.

If Congress wants to bolster democracy in Colombia, it will help the
country win its war.