Article: Policy Experts Review Plan Colombia as it Enters Next Phase

21 November 2000

Article: Policy Experts Review Plan Colombia as it Enters Next Phase

Participants focus on the role of the military

By Kerri DiZoglio
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- "Plan Colombia is not a military plan with a social component but rather a social plan with a military component," General Charles Wilhelm, former commander-in-chief of the U.S. Southern Command, said during a roundtable discussion held at the North-South Center on November 17.

Wilhelm and the other participants stressed the importance of recognizing Plan Colombia as a comprehensive approach to achieving peace and security in Colombia through humanitarian and development assistance, noting that only about 12-15 percent of U.S. support is devoted to the military side of the plan.

"There is a broad misconception that the social components of Plan Colombia are the 'soft' elements, when, in fact, institutional reform, human rights, and alternate economic development initiatives are its principal features," Wilhelm said.

According to Alex Lee, senior Colombian desk officer at the U.S. Department of State, Plan Colombia appeals to the United States because it is a "synergistic approach" that calls for the cooperation of not only the U.S. government but also the entire international community on a broad spectrum of issues.

Juan Esteban Orduz, the Embassy of Colombia's deputy chief of mission, said that the current administration in Bogota, led by President Andres Pastrana, is committed to the fight against narcotics abuse and to better enforcement of human rights standards throughout society.

"The only way to bring about peace in Colombia is to fight drugs," said Orduz. "But we need the support of the United States, the European countries, Japan and others in the international community in order to effectively implement Plan Colombia."

On the military side, Lee said the United States is supporting Colombia's offensive in the southern province of Putumayo, where there has been an explosion in coca production, by providing training and equipment to three counternarcotics battalions targeting heavily armed production laboratories.

Adam Isacson from the Center for International Policy expressed reservations about U.S. support for the Colombian military, saying that Putumayo is a long-time stronghold of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and that "counterinsurgent efforts" are unlikely to succeed. Those efforts, he added, could lead to an escalation in the violence and force the displacement of tens of thousands of desperate peasants into neighboring countries.

In defense of U.S. support for the Colombian military, Wilhelm said: "Eradication of drugs is the ultimate responsibility of the Colombian National Police; however, the military needs to provide the security umbrella under which the police can safely operate."

Lee explained that the United States is supporting the reform and reconstruction of the Colombian armed forces, which have been seriously criticized in the past, to ensure accountability and professionalism.

According to Wilhelm, this has been done successfully, as "the Colombian military has internalized and embraced human rights as a precondition for military success." He also said that the leadership team established by the Pastrana Administration is "the best and most cohesive" that he has ever seen.

Both Lee and Wilhelm emphasized that it is too soon to judge the impact of the military efforts in the region, since they are only in the intermediate phase. Currently, only the first of the three battalions is operating in the field while the other two are in training, Wilhelm said.

Looking to the future, Lee stressed the importance of establishing benchmarks that will accurately gauge the effectiveness of both the military and social objectives of Plan Colombia, because these measures will significantly influence future support for the plan.

Discussion moderator and former U.S. Ambassador to Panama Ambler Moss said that recovery from the economic recession in Colombia is also crucial to the success of the peace process.

Noting that 65 percent of Colombia's exports go to the United States, Moss argued that "enhancing [U.S.] trade preferences to Colombia would be extremely beneficial to Colombia and would be a non-budgetary element that could be readily incorporated into current initiatives."

"This should be high on the congressional agenda for the upcoming year," he concluded.