U.S. ANTI-DRUG CZAR PREDICTS A FIGHT IN COLOMBIA

BOGOTA, Colombia--White House anti-drug czar Barry McCaffrey on Monday
predicted heavy fighting in an approaching U.S.-backed anti-drug offensive
and warned that there would be repercussions for Colombia's neighbors.

But with "vital" U.S. interests at stake, and insurgents growing stronger
through deepening ties to the drug trade, McCaffrey said he saw no
alternative to the $1.3-billion effort set to get underway in January.

"Colombia has no option. Your survival is at stake, and those of us who are
friends of Colombia must stand with you," McCaffrey told a news conference
Monday as he started a two-day visit accompanied by Undersecretary of State
Thomas R. Pickering.

Last week, Colombia's largest leftist insurgency declared a freeze on peace
talks that have been President Andres Pastrana's main strategy for ending a
three-decade conflict.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, said it was protesting
U.S. military aid and lack of government action against rightist
paramilitary forces waging an unofficial "dirty war" against suspected
leftists.

The rebels are also maintaining a 2-month-old stranglehold on the largest
coca-growing province while highlighting the lack of state authority
throughout the countryside.