COLOMBIA CRUMBLES

It seems inconceivable, but the crisis in Colombia appears to be worsening.
Terrorist groups, both insurgent and paramilitary, have gained such a
strong foothold that the government is making concession after concession,
thereby further strengthening the terrorists. And of course, Colombia
problems are, to a degree, also America's.

This month, the Colombian government demonstrated to the world just how
weak it is. President Andres Pastrana had previously ceded to the FARC, a
terrorist group, control of a "demilitarized" zone roughly the size of
Switzerland as part of a larger peace strategy.

He set a Dec. 7 deadline for bringing the zone back to the state's control
in order to motivate the FARC to negotiate a peace.

But Mr. Pastrana, too afraid to challenge the FARC, decided to extend the
deadline, despite the FARC's flouting of the president's overtures.

Although the Clinton administration has given the Colombian government's
peace plan over $1 billion in financial support, the creation of this
demilitarized zone has always been highly controversial, since the people
living there are outside the protection of the police, military or courts.

Jose Miguel Vivanco, director of Human Rights Watch, recently criticized
the Colombian government's decision to extend the December deadline.

The FARC is violating international human rights in a systematic and brutal
fashion and there have been "forcible disappearances, extrajudicial
executions and torture inside the zone," he said.

The FARC has responded to the government's deadline extension by escalating
its terror campaign.

On Dec. 7 and Dec. 8, the FARC attacked three areas in Colombia, killing a
total of 20 civilians, six policemen and eight soldiers.

And the FARC's tentacles are spreading alarmingly close to the United
States. Last month, Mexico's attorney general said that Mexican and
Colombian officials have exposed a major link between the a major Mexican
drug cartel, Arellano Felix and the FARC. The State Department said in a
statement that since late 1999 the FARC "has sought to establish a monopoly
position over the commercialization of the cocaine base across much of
southern Colombia. The FARC forces all growers to sell only to the FARC at
one fixed price with only the FARC permitted to sell, at a higher fixed
price, to cocaine cartels." These narco-terrorists are now spreading their
control to Panama, which is particularly significant due of the strategic
importance of the Panama Canal.

Unfortunately, Colombia's military lacks the professionalism to respond
effectively, and humanely, to the problem.

America, all the while, is feeding the terrorists through its drug habit.

Ultimately, the United States could pay a high price for the troubles in
Colombia, but not nearly as high as Colombia is.