BUSH CONSIDERS COLOMBIA REBELS IN WAR ON TERROR

WASHINGTON -- Alarmed by signs of weapons traffic between Colombian rebels
and the Middle East, the Bush administration is weighing a proposal to
declare the destruction of leftist guerrillas in the South American country
an explicit goal of U.S. policy.

Some senior officials also are pushing for the administration to assert,
for the first time, that the Colombian rebels are a specific target of the
worldwide U.S. war on terrorism, administration officials said.

Such declarations would mark a significant toughening of U.S. policy and
pose an important test of how much leeway Congress will grant President
Bush to expand military operations around the world in the post-Sept. 11 era.

Congress for six years has strictly limited the U.S. military mission in
Colombia, fearing that if the anti-drug campaign escalated to a broader
fight against insurgents, the United States could sink into a costly
quagmire with echoes of Vietnam.

Under federal law and presidential directive, U.S. military assistance in
the country's 38-year-old conflict has been generally limited to support
for the Colombian government's counternarcotics activities. The 250 U.S.
troops there are barred from a combat role.

Yet as rebels have stepped up attacks in recent months, administration
officials have come to the view that only sharply increased military
pressure -- with U.S. backing -- can force the large and well-financed
rebel forces to the negotiating table.

Last week, Colombian President Carlos Pastrana broke off talks with the
guerrillas, and the Colombian army moved Friday to take over a zone ceded
to the rebels three years ago.

The administration officials argue that the United States should seek to
foster Colombian democracy and that the collapse of the Colombian
government would risk violence and turmoil throughout a strategic,
oil-producing corner of the hemisphere.

Seeking to underscore the security risks posed by the rebels, officials
pointed last week to classified reports indicating that crudely
manufactured mortars used in Libya have been found in the hands of
Colombian rebels.

These weapons, made out of natural-gas canisters, fire conventional shells
but have also been used to bombard targets with unconventional materials,
including excrement. Used that way, they can spread contagion and become a
kind of cheap and frightening biological weapon, according to U.S. officials.

The rebels are among the largest and best-funded insurgent groups in the
world. They earn hundreds of millions of dollars from drug traffic as well
as kidnapping and extortion operations.

"Radical departure" Michael Shifter, an expert on Colombia at the
Inter-American Dialogue research organization in Washington, said it would
be a "radical departure" for the administration to commit itself to
destroying the rebel organization, or even to making it an official target
of the war on terrorism.

He noted that Bush had excluded the Colombian insurgents last fall when he
defined the war's object as terrorist groups with "global reach."

Declaring the rebels part of the broader terrorism war would probably bring
still more money and resources to the battle and give the problem more
high-level attention in Washington. It would reflect the administration's
view that the insurgents are a threat beyond Colombia's borders and could
spread instability to neighboring Venezuela, a major oil producer, and
Bolivia, Ecuador and Panama.

It would also make the U.S.-led war on terrorism appear broader than a
campaign against only Islamic militants.

Shifter said there have been past reports of contacts and arms traffic
between the Colombian rebels and Middle Eastern groups, although none, as
far as he knew, came from official sources. He said he had been skeptical
of the reports because the rebels are "provincials" without wide contacts
abroad.

Yet he added, "I wouldn't be shocked" if the reports were true.

Last year, several suspected Irish Republican Army militants were arrested
in Colombia and charged with helping the guerrillas there.

The Bush administration has been searching for a tougher line on Colombia,
and an intense internal debate rages over how far the administration should
go in reshaping what has been a strictly anti- narcotics campaign.

This month, the administration formally requested, as part of its 2003
budget, $98 million to train a new Colombian brigade to protect the key
Cano Limon oil pipeline, which is operated by Occidental Petroleum of Los
Angeles.

U.S. officials also are seeking permission to give the Colombian government
new intelligence information to help it locate rebel forces, as well as
additional spare parts for its military.

Expansion expected But U.S. defense officials said last week they expect
the military mission to be expanded to far more than protecting a single
pipeline.

They predicted that the new brigade will protect other parts of the
infrastructure that has been a target of rebel attacks, including roads,
bridges and electric power installations.

The overriding purpose is to protect or reclaim territory so the Colombian
government can assert its sovereignty over the great expanses of the
country that have been lost to rebel control, one defense official said.

And although U.S. troops are barred from combat, defense officials believe
that American advisers will be allowed for the first time to accompany
Colombian troops in firefights to help guide their activities, defense
officials said.

Despite their increased proficiency, the Colombian troops "lack self-
confidence," said a defense official who requested anonymity.

In the debate over the policy, the State Department and National Security
Council are urging a cautious approach, while the Pentagon is arguing for a
more assertive stance.

Administration officials say they intend to fashion their new policy in
consultation with lawmakers and believe they can build wide support on
Capitol Hill if they have a chance to present their views.

"There has not been a real discussion on Capitol Hill on Colombia for three
years," said Roger Pardo-Maurer IV, the Pentagon's top official in Western
Hemisphere affairs.

Administration officials say they don't think the Colombian army can end
the war with a military victory. But increased military force can build the
pressure on the rebels, convincing them that their side is weakening and
may be better off negotiating, they say.