RETHINKING THE 'OLD' WAR ON DRUGS

As Congress prepares to discuss next year's foreign aid bill, dominating
the agenda will be the new war on terrorism. However, a large portion of
the bill will fund the "old" war on drugs.

In October, the Senate debated the $15 billion FY 2002 foreign aid bill,
which is expected to be finalized soon week in Congress. Included in the
bill is the Bush administration's Andean Initiative, a follow-up to
President Clinton's $1.3 billion Plan Colombia, which focuses on reducing
the amount of illicit drugs grown in Colombia.

The initiative provides military and economic assistance to Colombia, Peru,
Bolivia and Ecuador. Unlike Plan Colombia, this year's bill offers a
refreshing break from the past by placing greater emphasis on economic
alternatives to coca production.

For almost two decades, U.S. policy in Colombia has focused on dishing out
large sums of money for the arming and training of the Colombian police and
armed forces and the fumigation of coca fields. Yet, despite this
militarized approach to fighting the drug war, drugs are more readily
available than ever before.

A report from the White House in January showed that coca cultivation in
Colombia increased 140 percent during the period 1995-99. In 2000, under
Plan Colombia 123,000 acres of coca plants were sprayed, yet cultivation of
coca increased 11 percent.

Colombia now ranks as the third largest recipient of U.S. aid after Israel
and Egypt. However, the aid does little to address Colombia's most pressing
problem: an ongoing 40-year civil war, which has killed tens of thousands
and displaced millions.

The parties to the conflict include the Colombian Armed Forces, the
country's two main guerrilla groups the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN), and right-wing
paramilitary organizations including the United Self-Defense Forces of
Colombia (AUC) -- all of which have committed numerous human rights abuses.
The FARC, the ELN and the AUC are all on the U.S. list of terrorist
organizations.

The United States has made repeated claims of supporting the peace process
in Colombia, but the influx in military aid has done nothing more than
strengthen the ties between the Colombian military and paramilitary groups,
thereby embroiling the United States in Colombia's guerrilla war and adding
to regional instability.

Sen. Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., pointed out the desperate situation in
Colombia noting that, "Since Plan Colombia funding began pouring into
Colombia, we have seen a massive increase in paramilitary participation and
its incumbent violence. The ranks of the United Self-Defense Forces of
Colombia (AUC) and other paramilitary groups continue to swell. Their prime
targets: human rights workers, trade unionists, judges, prosecutors,
journalists and myriad other civilians. . . . [During my visits to
Colombia,] Consistently, the military, in particular the army, was
described to me as tolerating, supporting and actively coordinating
paramilitary operations, which often ended in massacres."

President Bush's Andean Initiative requests $731 million for the
coming year, with about $400 million to go to Colombia. The bulk of the
aid is for narcotics and security programs, which will focus on more
training and equipment for Colombian security forces, additional training
and support for the Army's U.S.-supplied Huey II and UH-60 helicopters,
increased interdiction and surveillance operations, and expanded
eradication and counternarcotics operations.

For fear of being perceived as "soft on drugs," members of Congress have
been reluctant to offer any concrete changes in the militarized approach,
but reality is finally taking precedence. Both branches of Congress voted
for less money than the Bush request. In July, the House agreed on a $676
million plan. Three months later the Senate recommended $567 million for
the initiative. The differences in the details are to be hammered out in
this week, however monetary differences are not the only points in dispute.

The Senate version includes amendments to strengthen economic and social
components of bill. Sens. Wellstone and Russ Feingold, D-Wisc., introduced
an amendment aimed at ensuring alternative development programs are in
place before fumigation and eradication efforts are expanded, thereby
ensuring that the Colombian farmers are able to survive and make a living
without growing coca.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., added another amendment to delay the funds for
the purchase of chemicals used in fumigation until a study on the health
effects has been conducted. Leahy also added language to ensure farmers
would be compensated for legal crops destroyed during fumigation.

Together, these amendments could serve as the first steps in a dramatic
shift in U.S. policy toward Colombia. While they do not change the highly
militarized response to the drug problems in the Andean Region, they offer
hope that these issues may be up for debate in future discussions of the
war on drugs.

A policy that provides Colombia with aid for alternative development
programs, humanitarian assistance and the strengthening of judicial and
civil institutions, coupled with a domestic policy in the United States
concentrating on demand reduction through treatment and prevention programs
would offer new solutions for this old war.

Ciarrocca and Peck are research associates at the World Policy Institute in
New York City.