U.S. SAYS COLOMBIA WINNING WAR, MILITARY AID SHOULD BE REDUCED

MIAMI -- The U.S. military's commander for Latin America says
Washington should gradually reduce its roughly $600 million in annual
military and anti-drug aid to Colombia, support that has been crucial
to putting the region's most potent rebel force on the defensive.

"I'm not concerned there's going to be a loss of funding," Gen. John
Craddock said Monday when asked about reports that the State
Department wants to phase out Plan Colombia, which has provided the
country with some $4 billion in total aid since 2000.

"First of all, there should be (decreased funding), over time. It
makes sense. The Colombians are winning," said Craddock, a four-star
general and former tank commander who this week ends a two-year stint
as chief of the U.S. Southern Command.

"(The Colombians) are taking every year more and more responsibility
for the conduct and the resources. That's the way it ought to be,"
said Craddock, who will be assuming command of U.S. forces in Europe
and Africa and of NATO.

In an interview with several news organizations at his headquarters,
Craddock said Colombia's defense minister, Juan Manuel Santos, is in
agreement with reductions in U.S. military funding.

The U.S. aid has helped President Alvaro Uribe, elected in May to a
second four-year term, make Colombia's highways and cities safer and
cut the world's highest kidnapping rate roughly in half by putting
the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, on the defensive.

And though it's questionable whether Plan Colombia has put a serious
dent in drug trafficking from the world's leading cocaine producing
nation, from which the FARC and other illegal armed groups benefit,
the Colombian military's gains are measurable.

U.S. analysts say the FARC has been reduced by some 5,000 fighters to
12,000 since 2002 as Uribe boosted the number of police and soldiers
by 30 percent, created elite anti-insurgency units and benefited from
training by U.S. Special Forces and closer intelligence-sharing.

Colombia's military has also gained air mobility with the acquisition
of a fleet of UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters.

But Uribe's armed forces have recently been beset by a series of
scandals, including accusations of dozens of civilians killed by
soldiers who claimed they were rebels and allegations that military
intelligence officers have staged bombings and FARC surrenders to
make it appear as if they have been weakening the rebels.

The most egregious scandal involved the May massacre of 10 anti-drug
police by a military unit _ a hit allegedly ordered up by cocaine mafiosos.

On other topics, Craddock said he believes there is greater democracy
in the region than when he assumed command two years ago of
Southcom's 1,200 soldiers and civilians in the Caribbean and Latin
America south of Mexico.

"I think that if you take it on balance and look at the entire region
there's cause for optimism," he said, adding that the results of
Sunday's elections in Ecuador indicate democracy is working even in
that chronically unstable country.

Leftist economist Rafael Correa, who vowed not to renew the U.S. base
at Manta when its lease runs out in 2009, scored far fewer votes
Sunday that pre-election polls indicated, forcing a November runoff
with Alvaro Noboa, Ecuador's wealthiest man. Noboa is far more
acceptable to Washington.

Craddock said the rise of populists such as Correa highlight his
greatest concern about the region: that even with economic growth,
little has been done to bridge the wide gap between rich and poor.

"I think that what we're seeing is a recognition that governments
have an obligation in the region to eliminate poverty, reduce
corruption and reduce the inequality," he said.

Craddock has in the past accused President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela a
playing a "destabilizing" role by trying to export his "extreme
populist movement" elsewhere.

Asked for evidence of that Monday in the case of Bolivia, Craddock
wouldn't comment. But he denied that U.S. military ties with Bolivia
have suffered, even as populist President Evo Morales strengthens
military cooperation with Venezuela.

He said U.S. soldiers are currently planning a humanitarian
assistance mission in Bolivia under the "New Horizons" program, in
which U.S. soldiers engage in construction projects and provide free
medical care.

Craddock's replacement as Southcom chief, Adm. James G. Stavridis,
takes over on Thursday. Like Craddock before him, Stravridis wears
four stars and comes to the job after serving as a top military aide
to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.