U.S. POWER SKIRTING COLOMBIAN WAR

WASHINGTON -- Their ammunition spent, 13 Colombian police officers raised
their hands and surrendered to guerrillas attacking a small mountain town.
One by one, they were shot to death.

Just miles away, U.S. Black Hawk helicopters provided to the police for
anti-drug missions remained on the ground. They were never called in to help
the officers.

Whether they could have been used has raised delicate questions after the
approval of a $1.3 billion Colombian anti-narcotics aid package: Can
U.S.-provided anti-drug helicopters be used for missions that aren't
directly related to drugs without pushing the United States deeper into
Colombia's civil war?

The July 15 police deaths led the chairman of the House International
Relations Committee, Benjamin Gilman, to write to Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright, expressing concern that the helicopters hadn't been used
because of U.S. restrictions.

Both U.S. and Colombian officials denied that suggestion. Colombian National
Police Chief Ernesto Gilibert said the helicopters, which are flown by
Colombian pilots, hadn't been deployed because they weren't equipped to fly
at night.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said U.S. policy lets
Colombia use the helicopters "for humanitarian purposes to prevent a loss of
life and to provide evacuation."

The $1.3 billion package signed July 13 by President Clinton will provide
additional helicopters and other aid to Colombian army anti-drug battalions.
U.S. officials have insisted they won't cross the line between fighting drug
trafficking and fighting the rebels. Critics say it's a tough distinction to
make.

Sen. Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., said the concerns raised by Gilman "speak to
the whole problem that there's very little clarity about rules of combat.

"It's very unclear what's counternarcotics and what's counterinsurgency," he
said.

The July 15 attack in the southwestern Colombia town of Roncesvalles didn't
appear to be tied to any anti-drug operations. The police spent 27 hours
under attack by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. When the police
ran out of ammunition, they tried to surrender. Each officer was shot
point-blank in the head.

John Mackey, an aide to Gilman, said Colombian police told him they were
reluctant to use the Black Hawks because they thought they were restricted
to anti-drug flights.

But Colombia's police chief said there was no question the helicopters could
have been used. "When we need to use them for humanitarian purposes, we're
not going to hesitate in doing so," Gen. Gilibert said. "We're not going to
use them to attack a guerrilla group, but, yes, we can use them to defend
ourselves."

Sunday, U.S.-provided helicopters carried police and troops to the mountain
town of Arboleda, where rebels struck another police station over the
weekend.

Colombian troops and police searching Monday through the rubble after the
two-day attack by hundreds of rebels found the bodies of at least eight
police officers, part of an estimated 25-member contingent that was under
attack for two days. Four civilians, including a policeman's wife, were also
slain.

At least three survivors were found among the local police force. The other
missing officers are feared dead.