U.S. NEEDS COHERENT POLICY ON COLOMBIA PEACE EFFORT

Under strong criticism from abroad, the Bush administration now has partly
relented on its refusal to participate in peace talks between the Colombian
government and leftist rebels. Thus, participation by a U.S. observer in
the international monitoring of peace negotiations has become possible.

That would be acceptable, but only if the United States firmly commits
itself to two key conditions: no military involvement in Colombia's civil
war beyond the $1.3 billion in military aid already pledged under the
pretext of fighting the war on drugs, and no direct brokering of peace
terms as guarantor or go-between.

The possible U.S. policy shift came about after diplomats from 25
governments in Latin America, Europe, Japan and Canada met last week with
leaders of the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the
largest guerrilla group. The diplomats protested the U.S. absence and
argued that the monitoring mission would have far greater clout with U.S.

participation. They have a good point. Monitoring the peace process as part
of a multinational team of observers may be beneficial and would not
necessarily contradict President George W. Bush's justifiable unease at a
deeper involvement in Colombia's civil war.

A key reason for the earlier refusal to participate in the peace process
was an abiding distrust of FARC, a group on the official U.S. list of
terrorist organizations. Skepticism is justified. FARC has a long history
of breaking promises on cease-fires and refusing to honor commitments with
a succession of Colombian governments. However, its leaders are now
reported to be dealing in earnest with the current president, Andres
Pastrana, a respected democrat who is widely seen as the best hope for
Colombia to settle its 40-year civil war.

The rapid shift in the U.S. stance, however desirable it may come to be,
does point to the necessity for Bush's fledgling foreign policy team to get
out a coherent message on key issues. This is the first hint of
vacillationon its part -an uncomfortable reminder of the sort of waffling
that plagued former President Bill Clinton's early forays into foreign policy.