WAR HELPS THE RICH

The Bush administration wants to expand the "war on drugs" to the "war on
terrorists" in Columbia. Without a doubt a main purpose of further U.S.
involvement is to protect multinational corporate interests. In Columbia
one benefactor would be Occidental Petroleum.

If Congress agrees with the administration, the United States will continue
and increase its terrible record of human rights abuses in Nicaragua, El
Salvador and Guatemala. The primary victims of all these wars are the
marginalized, unarmed, rural poor.

Despite U.S. aid, an increase in cocaine production and profits has been
reported. Further aid will almost surely help the right-wing paramilitary
drug organizations and have little effect on the rebel drug producers.

I protest the expenditure of our tax dollars for a policy that cannot solve
the basic problem of social injustice and will help the rich at a
frightening cost to poor Colombians.

FRANK KUHLMAN, Alma