POWELL PROMISES TO PRESS FOR MORE AID TO COLOMBIA

BOGOTA, Colombia -- Impressed with Colombia's new government, Secretary of
State Colin Powell pledged Wednesday that he would seek more U.S. aid to
help underwrite this nation's war against drug traffickers and rebel groups.

During his 22-hour visit to Bogota, Powell praised President Alvaro Uribe,
who took office in August, for his economic, counterdrug and national
security policies and said he would press U.S. lawmakers to boost an
already massive assistance program for Colombia.

"I would like to be able to get a lot more funding," Powell told a news
conference following his 90-minute meeting with Uribe at the presidential
palace. "I will try to make that case before our Congress." The U.S.
government has provided Colombia -- the third-largest recipient of American
aid after Israel and Egypt -- with more than $1.8 billion in mostly
military assistance over the past two years. The Bush administration has
requested $573 million for 2003 and recently authorized the assistance to
be used against Marxist guerrillas as well as the illegal drug trade.

Powell acknowledged that there are "practical limitations" on how much more
money Washington might provide, but added: "This is a partnership that
works and a partnership that we must continue to make an investment in."

Colombia provides 90 percent of the cocaine and most of the heroin sold on
U.S. streets. Its 38-year-old civil war pits government forces as well as
illegal right-wing paramilitaries against leftist guerrilla groups. The
outlawed armies earn much of their funding through the narcotics trade.

Amid Washington's global war on terrorism, however, Colombia had largely
disappeared from the U.S. radar screen. Powell had planned to visit Bogota
last year -- on Sept. 11 -- but canceled the trip because of the attacks on
the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Wednesday's visit proved timely for the Bush administration. In recent
months, leftist presidents have been elected in neighboring Ecuador and
Brazil. In Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez remains intent on carrying out
a "social revolution" on behalf of the poor.

That leaves Uribe, who supports free-market economic reforms and hard-line
counterdrug policies, as Washington's staunchest ally in the region, notes
Vicente Torrijos, a political science professor at Rosario University in
Bogota.

Furthermore, Colombia now holds the rotating presidency of the U.N.
Security Council. From that post, the South American nation will oversee
the debate on Iraq's compliance with weapons inspections.

At the news conference, Powell said the Bush administration expects an
"open, full and comprehensive debate" over whether Iraq's soon-to-be
released declaration of its weapons programs is accurate.

But some observers claim some arm-twisting may have been at work during
Powell's visit to Colombia.

The United States "wants to make sure that Colombia behaves as Washington
wants it to" at the Security Council, said one Bogota political analyst. "I
think it's a kind of quid pro quo" for continued U.S. assistance.

According to Powell, Uribe has made all the right moves during nearly four
months on the job.

The Colombian president fully supports a controversial U.S.-backed program
to eradicate drug crops. He has launched programs to upgrade the army, add
thousands of new officers to the national police force and extend
government services to lawless rural areas.

Colombians also seem to approve. A recent Gallup Poll put Uribe's
job-approval rating at 74 percent.

"Today, I applauded the president for his strong conviction and for his
successful efforts," Powell said. For his part, Uribe urged Powell to renew
a program under which the United States provided intelligence for
Colombia's aerial-interdiction program, designed to track and force down
drug-smuggling aircraft.

Many observers believe the program is one of the most effective ways to
battle narcotics trafficking.

But U.S. aid for such programs in the Andean region was cut off last year
after an American missionary and her infant daughter were killed when the
Peruvian air force accidentally shot down their plane.

On Wednesday, Powell pledged the program would be back in place next year.

Uribe and Powell also discussed a recent offer by Colombia's outlawed
paramilitary forces to declare a cease-fire and begin peace talks with the
government.

The paramilitaries, who have been fighting the guerrillas for two decades,
have been accused of massive human rights abuses. Three of their top
commanders, including paramilitary leader Carlos Castano, were indicted in
September on U.S. charges of drug smuggling.

Powell said the peace initiative may be worth exploring but cautioned that
the U.S. indictments remain in place.

"These gentlemen have much to account for, not only under U.S. law but
under Colombian law as well," he said.