SPRAYING POISON

Maybe we should take it all back. We have criticized Plan Colombia, the
Clinton administration program of military aid to Colombia, purportedly to
fight against narco-traffickers, which the Bush administration has
foolishly expanded into the grandiose Andean Initiative.

However, the harsh public reaction in Colombia against a U.S.- sponsored
herbicide spraying program is causing "mainstream opinion makers and
high-powered Colombian politicians," including former President Ernesto
Samper, to question openly the very idea of the drug war and to talk about
legalization.

It's a pity that officials in any government seem willing to entertain
common sense only when enforcement is taken to its harsh but logical
extremes. But if that's what it takes ...