STARTING WITH COLOMBIA

The recent rise in oil prices has revived America's appreciation for its
strategic relationships with countries in the Middle East and reminded us
why we came to their defense in the Persian Gulf War a half-world away. To
me, there is an indisputable parallel to the situation in our own back
yard: the crisis in Colombia.

A decade ago the United States went to war with a powerful enemy partly to
stabilize a major oil-producing region. We worried that Iraq would attack
Saudi Arabia, an ally and one of the United States' largest oil suppliers.
Where is that same concern with Colombia today? The destabilization of
Colombia directly affects bordering Venezuela, now generally regarded as
our largest oil supplier. In fact, the oil picture in Latin America is
strikingly similar to that of the Middle East, except that Colombia
provides us more oil today than Kuwait did then. This crisis, like the one
in Kuwait, threatens to spill over into many nations, all of which are allies.

But momentum in Congress to help Colombia has stalled, and it is hard to
understand why. Colombia is an undeniable national security emergency for
our country.

The political and economic breakdown in Colombia is fueled by the rising
narcotics threat in the region. Colombia is fighting for survival against a
powerful rebel insurgency bankrolled by the illicit drug business.
Estimates are that the guerrillas rake in $1 billion annually from drugs.
The result is a well-funded, well-armed rebel army that threatens the
state's authority.

These left-wing guerrillas control almost 40 percent of Colombia's
territory, and their violence has reached the outskirts of Bogota. The
drug-fueled violence has taken its toll, claiming more than 35,000 lives in
the past decade. Numbers of displaced Colombians approach the levels we saw
in Kosovo at its height--more than 800,000 since 1995. And Colombia is now
home to one-third of all acts of terrorism worldwide, with 2,663
kidnappings in 1999 alone. The future of Latin America's oldest democracy
is at stake.

The conflict is spreading. Colombian guerrillas move freely across the
border into Panama, a country with no standing army. Just recently, rebels
overran a Colombian military base 15 miles from the Panamanian border,
killing more than 40 Colombian law enforcement officials and soldiers. Such
brazenness heightens the fear that Panama will not be able to defend itself
or the canal. Peru, Venezuela and Ecuador all have moved troops to their
borders with Colombia because of increased incursions into their nations by
Colombia's guerrillas.

Regional instability not only threatens a large source of U.S. oil (our
hemisphere provides about half our total oil imports), it fuels a steady
flow of drugs onto our streets. Colombia supplies 80 percent of the cocaine
and 60 percent of the heroin consumed in the United States. Narcotics
represent the most immediate and deadly threat we face in the hemisphere,
causing 52,000 deaths a year and costing an estimated $110 billion annually.

As the situation deteriorates, Colombians are fleeing their country in
droves--hundreds of thousands in the past four years, and visa applications
to the United States nearly tripled last year.

Let me restate the crisis: We import as much oil from this hemisphere as we
do from the Middle East; more Colombians than Kosovars have been forced to
flee their homes; 35,000 Colombians are dead. That's why the situation
demands our immediate attention.

Last fall, Sens. Mike DeWine, Charles Grassley and I introduced a $1.6
billion aid package to address the situation in Colombia. It is a balanced
approach that mirrors President Andres Pastrana's blueprint for stability.
Our plan strengthens counter-narcotic efforts by assisting military and law
enforcement agencies, while promoting respect for human rights and judicial
integrity. After years of neglect, the Clinton administration was forced to
put forward a similar proposal.

The situation in Colombia is an emergency and must be dealt with urgently.
If this means the Colombia aid must be pulled out of the larger emergency
spending bill of which it is now a part, so be it. The price of not acting
soon will be more costly than the figures being debated. The security and
prosperity of all the Americas depends on our immediate and effective response.

The writer is a Republican senator from Georgia.