COLOMBIA SAYS IT NEEDS $600 MILLION IN NEW FUNDS TO SLASH DRUG OUTPUT

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Despite a $1.3 billion anti-drug aid package already
approved, Colombia will need up to $600 million a year in additional
drug-fighting funds from the U.S. in the next few years, Colombia's
ambassador says.

Ambassador Luis Moreno said he is confident U.S. support for Colombia will
remain strong despite the change in administrations.

"This was a bipartisan policy," he said. "It began as a bipartisan policy
and it should remain that way."

The $1.3 billion package approved last summer is intended to help Colombia,
the world's largest producer of cocaine, cut its drug production in half
over six years.

Much of the package was for helicopters to help the South American
country's military fight leftist guerrillas who finance their insurgency in
part by protecting coca fields and cocaine laboratories.

President-elect George W. Bush expressed support for the Colombian aid in
an Aug. 25 speech in Miami, saying, "This money should help build up the
capabilities of Colombia's armed forces."

"Our aid will help the Colombian government protect its people, fight the
drug trade, halt the momentum of the guerrillas and bring about a sensible
and peaceful resolution to this conflict," Mr. Bush said.

Mr. Bush, like President Bill Clinton, said he opposed using U.S. troops in
battle there.

The Clinton administration has stressed that military aid will be used
strictly for fighting guerrillas linked to the drug trade and not to help
Colombia in its civil war.

Some Republicans say it's naive to separate the drug fight from the overall
Colombian conflict and that the Bush administration may not be as concerned
about making that kind of a distinction.

If Colombian President Andres Pastrana becomes frustrated with the peace
process, Mr. Bush may agree to a request for help in training overall
Colombian forces, said Myles Frechette, a Bush supporter who was ambassador
to Colombia during the Clinton administration.

Clinton administration officials have repeatedly said more aid will be
necessary in coming years to meet the plan's goals. Barry McCaffrey,
director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, has
predicted $400 million to $600 million will be needed next year for
Colombia and its neighbors, but the administration hasn't said how much
will have to be spent beyond that.

Ambassador Moreno said Colombia will likely need $500 million to $600
million for at least three or four years.

Some Democrats have been skeptical that the aid will reduce drug production
and fear the package will draw the U.S. into Colombia's guerrilla conflict
and help a military linked to human rights atrocities.

The plan also has been criticized internationally, with Latin American
leaders repeatedly raising concerns that U.S. military aid will only widen
Colombia's conflict.