A REPRIEVE IN COLOMBIA

Colombia has won a reprieve from bloody confrontation between the military
and terrorist guerrilla and paramilitary forces.

Whether this reprieve leads to an eventual peace, bloodshed, or a
continuation of the violent status quo depends on the actions of the
critical players in Colombia's high-stakes rumble.

Although there doesn't seem to be immediate cause for optimism, there are
some hopeful signs on the horizon.

In recent days, Colombian President Andres Pastrana and the country's most
powerful guerrilla group, the Farc, have been caught in a dramatic stalemate.

Last week, Mr. Pastrana surprised much of the world by declaring he was
breaking off peace negotiations with the Farc. As the Jan. 20 deadline for
the Farc to abandon a demilitarized enclave that Mr. Pastrana ceded to
their control in 1998 loomed closer, the military and Farc seemed headed
for an inevitable confrontation that was sure to take many civilian lives.

Mr. Pastrana had given the Farc the enclave as a gesture of goodwill to
jump-start peace talks.

But the Farc has used the territory to hold kidnapped victims, grow drug
crops and launch terror campaigns.

On Monday, Mr. Pastrana demonstrated uncharacteristic resolve by declaring
that if the Farc failed to make specific commitments, it would have to
withdraw from the enclave by 9:30 pm. This move by the president was far
from expected, since Mr. Pastrana has given the Farc nonsense extensions on
deadlines for withdrawal nine times since the enclave was established. On
Monday, at the last hour, with the military surrounding the enclave, the
Farc agreed to meet the government's minimal demands, which include a
pledge to create a timetable for a cease-fire, and to halt kidnapping and
extortion operations. James LeMoyne, the U.N. envoy to Colombia, was the
main broker of the negotiations. The latest pact brings the government and
the Farc back from the brink - for now.

But unfortunately, the Farc stakes its survival on being a scourge on the
country.

Its power is underpinned by murderous brutality, its financing is backed by
the drug trade, kidnapping, and other violent activities, and the group has
consistently demonstrated its aversion to democracy, stability and peace.

Just hours before the Farc made its stated concession to the government,
the group launched a series of attacks, including a siege on the town of
San Jose de Alban, which killed nine police officers and one guard.

And as Mr. Pastrana was announcing the resumption of peace talks late
Monday, the Farc launched an attack on a prison close to Colombia's
capital, Bogota, which killed one guard.

The United States has indicated it will begin financially supporting
Colombia's counter-insurgent efforts, which effectively ends the pretense
that the drug cartels are independent of the guerrillas and paramilitaries.
If Mr. Pastrana or Colombia's next president has the courage to declare
that Colombia's guerrillas and paramilitaries are terrorist and drug
traffickers, these brutal combatants will be subject to extradition to the
United States. The prospect would significantly mar the terrorists' ability
to subjugate an entire population.