COLOMBIA LEADER CALLS FOR REVIEW OF DRUG WAR, SAYING RESULTS POOR

BOGOTA, Colombia - President Andres Pastrana, one of Washington's closest
allies in the global war on drugs, called Thursday for a review of that
struggle, saying it has produced few victories.

"The conclusions are not good," Pastrana said in a rare talk with foreign
journalists ahead of next week's visit by Secretary of State Colin Powell.
"The conclusions are that drugs are still the first-or second-biggest
business of mankind."

Pastrana said he still hopes for a negotiated end to Colombia's civil war.
He also said the United States should re-establish intelligence-sharing
with Colombia's air force about suspected drug flights, and urged President
Bush to help organize an international narcotics conference.

"Clearly, we must also make an evaluation - and not only of the policies of
fumigation and interdiction," Pastrana said.

He described a global narcotics industry worth $500 billion and said drug
lords are seeking out new markets in Europe and the former Soviet Union.

Drug use is on the rise in the U.S., he said. The White House says the
overall number of drug users has dropped, but that heroin use is rising,
and more Americans ages 18-25 are using drugs.

Washington suspended helping Colombia and Peru track down drug-smuggling
flights - using U.S. radar and surveillance planes - after the accidental
shootdown of a U.S. missionary plane over the Peruvian Amazon in April.