AID TO COLOMBIA: UNLEARNED LESSONS

To the Editor:

Re "Neighbors Fear Fallout of Aid to Colombians" (front page, Aug. 25):

The United States has apparently learned nothing from the horrors of El
Salvador and Nicaragua, where vast amounts of military aid only served to
intensify conflicts that neither side was going to win. Now, Congress and
President Clinton have confirmed that they will make the same error in
Colombia by sending $1.3 billion, almost all in military aid.

Haven't the last 20 years shown us that as long as there is a market for
drugs in the United States, somebody will find a way to get them there?
Cutting down on the demand side in the United States would do much more to
curtail drug production than a bloody military campaign. By providing
military aid rather than substantial social and economic assistance, the
United States is missing an opportunity to address the real roots of
insurgency and drug production in Colombia.

OSCAR ARIAS
San Jose, Costa Rica,
Aug. 25, 2000

The writer, the former president of Costa Rica, won the Nobel Peace Prize
in 1987.