COLOMBIAN REBELS VOW TO HIT U.S. ADVISERS

LARANDIA ARMY BASE, Colombia -- U.S. Green Berets and Air Force special
forces stationed in this sprawling base near large concentrations of
leftist guerrillas on Sunday faced renewed threats from the insurgents.

But a general in Colombia said he has sufficient forces to repel any threat
to the U.S. soldiers who are training troops in a U.S.-aided drug war.

Concerns about the safety of about 85 American soldiers at Larandia were
highlighted after Andres Paris, a commander of the Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia, or FARC, was quoted as saying that "all Colombian or
foreign military personnel who are in the combat zones will be military
targets."

A general commanding a brigade of 4,800 Colombian troops in this
mountainous region said his force was sufficient to protect the Americans
from the FARC.

The rebels have infiltrated along the exterior of the base to look for weak
points, said Col. Julian Villate, the base commander.

The U.S. Army Green Berets and members of the 720th Special Tactics Group
from Pope Air Force Base, N.C., are training two counter-narcotics army
battalions under a $1.3 billion U.S. aid package to this South American nation.

Paris' comments, posted Thursday on New Colombia News Agency, a Web site
run by FARC supporters and considered a reliable source, echoed previous
statements by FARC commanders. They did not come as a surprise, said Raul
Duany, spokesman for the Southern Command, which is in charge of U.S.
military operations in Latin America.

"It's nothing we didn't expect or didn't know. It's a very difficult
situation down there," Duany said by phone Sunday from the Southern
Command's headquarters in Miami.

Duany said under the U.S. troops' rules of engagement, they are authorized
to fire back if attacked or caught in crossfire.

He said "drastic protection methods" would be taken if necessary.