06 March 2002

Powell Says U.S. Will Have to Readjust its Policies on Colombia

Washington -- Secretary of State Colin Powell says a "new situation" existing in Colombia means that the Bush Administration will have to "readjust" its policies to save the Andean nation from terrorists and narco-traffickers.

In March 6 congressional testimony, Powell said the United States has to take a "hard look at what we're doing, and see if there are not other ways we can help Colombia protect itself, short of the United States' armed forces going in to do it." What exactly should be done, Powell said, is the subject of "intense discussion within the administration now."

Powell's testimony to the House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies followed remarks by Representative Jose Serrano (Democrat of New York) that the United States should avoid military involvement in Colombia. Serrano also cautioned that U.S. involvement in Colombia "could be a long, costly one that may not take us in the direction we want to go."

The hearing came on the same day the U.S. House of Representatives passed a non-binding resolution in support of Colombia and that country's efforts to "counter threats from U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations."

The resolution called on President Bush to send legislation to Congress that would help Colombia protect itself from U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations and "the scourge of illicit narcotics."

Representative Henry Hyde (Republican of Illinois), who introduced the resolution with Repreentative Tom Lantos (Democrat of California), said terrorism in Colombia, as elsewhere, is financed by drug trafficking. Terrorists, he said, are deeply involved in the drug trade.

In introducing his resolution on the House floor, Hyde said "it is time to help the Colombian people defend themselves," adding: "As a major defender of democracy, we must try to bolster it wherever we see it seriously threatened -- especially in our own hemisphere. Passing this resolution is an important first step."

Colombian President Andres Pastrana expressed appreciation for the resolution, saying his country has become "the theater of operations in which the U.S.-led global campaign against terrorism is being waged."

Pastrana said Colombia's success, or failure, in this campaign has implications for regional and hemispheric stability and peace.

Meanwhile, the Organization of American States (OAS) announced March 6 that it will send a team of observers to monitor Colombia's May 26 presidential elections.

The mission will be led by Santiago Murray, from Argentina. Murray and three OAS observers will travel to Colombia the weekend of March 9 to monitor the South American nation's legislative elections March 10 and to start preparations for the electoral observation mission in May. Murray, from the OAS Unit for the Promotion of Democracy, has led several electoral observation missions, including one that observed the November 2001 presidential election in Nicaragua.