COLOMBIA DRUG WAR FACES SHARP ATTACK

LOS POZOS, Colombia -Washington's escalating drug war in Colombia is
expected to come under sharp attack at an international peace conference
opening today in this tiny village in the country's coca-growing south.

Hosted by leftist guerrillas and the government as part of negotiations to
end the Andean country's 36-year conflict, the Conference on Illegal Drug
Crops and the Environment will be attended by delegates from 21 countries,
including Britain, Spain, France, Canada and Japan - but not the United
States.

The U.S. government declined, citing a prohibition on official contacts with
Colombia's largest rebel band, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia,
or FARC.