U.S., COLOMBIA GO IT ALONE IN WAR ON DRUG TRADE

MIAMI - Will anyone share the burden with the United States to help Colombia fight the drug war?

The answer remains no. At least not quite yet.

That's the only conclusion to be drawn from a visit this week to Colombia by a top-level British delegation.

Colombia's cash-strapped government is counting on major European funding for a proposed $ 7.5-billion counter-drug offensive. While the United States has already committed $ 1.3-billion in mostly military aid, Colombia is counting on Europe to help fund alternative development projects to wean peasant farmers off growing coca plants used to make cocaine.

If anyone is going to help, Britain is Washington's most likely ally. Colombian officials note that although most of the cocaine and heroin produced in their country ends up in the United States, increasing quantities are being smuggled through the Caribbean to satisfy European addicts.

Britain has longstanding business ties in Colombia, especially in the oil industry, which has been hard hit by guerrilla sabotage attacks. For years London has secretly helped out in Colombia with its elite Special Air Service providing training for the Colombian air force.

But Britain has also been traditionally somewhat leery of Washington's foreign policy ventures in Latin America. Even so, Colombia is widely regarded as a common problem in which all bear responsibility as drug consumers.

The British delegation's fact-finding team to Colombia was led by Mo Mowlam, a senior Cabinet minister and one of the architects of the Northern Ireland peace accords. Soon to quit politics herself, Mowlam is instead seeking a new career in peace-building.

It was her second visit to Colombia since June. Although she said there were some encouraging signs three months later, she warned that Colombia needed to make more progress to improve its human rights record before Europe can feel confident enough to contribute its own funds.

"For us to feel easy about putting more money in social and economic programs, we need to see more progress," she said.

President Andres Pastrana has so far failed to receive the level of international support for Plan Colombia that he had hoped for. Pastrana has requested a total of $ 1-billion from Europe.

At an international donors meeting in Madrid last July, Spain agreed to give $ 100-million in aid, and Norway approved $ 20-million. Although few countries appear willing to offer bilateral aid, the European Union is expected to provide some money.

But for the time being Europe has adopted a wait and see attitude.

Mowlam was critical of President Clinton's approval of massive U.S. funding for Colombia's military, despite that country's failure to meet human rights conditions required by the U.S. Congress. "I think it was unfortunate, to say the least," she said, suggesting it sent the wrong message to Colombia's armed forces.

However, Mowlam recognized that some progress had been made in recent months, citing the arrests of military officers accused of human rights abuses, as well as efforts to crack down on alleged links between the armed forces and brutal right-wing paramilitary groups.

Colombia's government and armed forces were "moving along the road and have just started to make progress," she said.

"There is still a long way to go."

Plan Colombia aims to eradicate major coca-growing regions in the south of the country, as well as poppy fields used in the production of heroin. Colombia also hopes this will force left-wing guerrillas into a peace agreement by cutting their vast profits from drug trafficking.

But critics say the plan rests too heavily on nearly $ 1-billion in U.S. funding for military training and helicopters. That kind of spending may do more to help profits in the U.S. defense industry than any long-term solution for Colombia.

Only this week the State Department conceded that more than $ 2.5-million had been wasted fitting faulty heavy-caliber machine guns to Black Hawk helicopters for delivery to Colombia. The .50-caliber, triple-barrel guns, purchased from General Dynamics, have been pulled from service after repeatedly malfunctioning.

The weapon was so expensive to operate the U.S. Embassy in Colombia complained it threatened to "eat up our budget . . . faster than it could possibly chew up narco-terrorists."

Mowlam also stressed Europe is concerned that large-scale eradication may only cause short-term inconvenience to major drug lords, while destroying the livelihood of thousands of poor peasant farmers who grow coca.

"The drugs problem will only be solved when people in poor areas are offered real alternatives to growing coca," Mowlam said. "We emphasized to the government that eradication has to be accompanied by alternative development, and pressed firmly for them to ensure that they happen in parallel."

She said Britain wants spraying missions to be monitored and opposes using any biological agents, including a controversial killer fungus, fusarium oxysporum, which the United States has proposed testing in Colombia.

Colombian officials are frustrated by much of this criticism. They say they need European help now in order to make their plan work.

"In order to do what (Mowlam) wants, and what Europe wants and what we want, we need to have the funds," said Jaime Ruiz, Pastrana's top adviser on drug policy. "In 15 years we haven't had any real money from Europe."

In true British style, Mowlam recommends patience, and a stiff upper lip.

"Delivering peace and jobs is always a long haul. I encourage everyone on what has been achieved and encourage them to stick at it."