'NO VIETNAM' IN COLOMBIA

CARTAGENA, Colombia--Declaring "this is not Vietnam," President Clinton
visited Colombia on Wednesday to assure Americans and Colombians that U.S.
support for the country's drug-fighting efforts will not lead the United
States into a combat role against the country's leftist guerrillas.

Clinton's trip was designed as a symbol of U.S. backing for President
Andres Pastrana rather than a detailed discussion of the $1.3 billion U.S.
aid package for Colombia. But sensitive to reservations at home and in
Colombia, Clinton went out of his way to underline that the heavy economic
and political commitment will not expand into military intervention.

"There won't be American involvement in a shooting war because they don't
want it and we don't want it," Clinton said at a joint news conference with
Pastrana. "This is not Vietnam. Neither is it Yankee imperialism."

Instead, he said in a show of personal and political support for Pastrana,
"we are proud to stand with our friend and our neighbor" in backing
Colombia's social and economic development programs along with the nearly
$1 billion in military equipment and counter-drug training that make up the
bulk of the aid.

Clinton's brief time in Cartagena was marked by tight security, including
more than 4,500 Colombian police, soldiers and sailors. Heavily armed boats
sat in Cartagena's waterways, sharpshooters were stationed atop the 16th
century city's ancient walls, and police lined the streets. Police said
they discovered a 4.4-pound bomb several blocks from where Clinton was
scheduled to pass, but added that it was stuffed with "propaganda" rather
than destructive material. Three men were reported arrested.

A congressional delegation accompanying the president was led by House
Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), who pledged "a commitment for a long
period of time" to aid Colombia, presumably beyond the current two-year
package. Hastert was instrumental in pushing the aid package through
Congress, despite misgivings by some who feared the United States would get
drawn into the guerrilla conflict and help an army long criticized for
human rights abuses.