COLOMBIA AID MISGIVINGS

To the Editor:

Re "Key House Leader Withdraws Support for Colombia Aid Plan" (news article,
Nov. 17):

It is good to see that Benjamin A. Gilman, the chairman of the House
International Relations Committee, is having second thoughts about the
United States' $1.3 billion aid package to Colombia, most of it military
aid.

Rethinking our policy toward Colombia is long overdue. At a recent meeting
of defense ministers from throughout the Western Hemisphere in Brazil, grave
concerns were expressed about American assistance to the Colombian military.
The European Union has announced a package of non-military aid.

The Colombia military aid package is the wrong approach to the war on drugs.
Instead, we should support negotiation of the Colombian conflict and
treatment for drug addiction.

Ursula H. Poland, Delmar, N.Y.