COLOMBIA ANTIDRUG FUNDING IS NOT AS SIMPLE AS IT SOUNDS

Those of you old enough to remember the Vietnam War will recall the
early years, when the majority of Americans couldn't find the place on
a map and practically nobody could tell the difference between the
Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese. Well, it's time to look up
Colombia on the map of South America and learn what FARC is.

When the history of this one is written, what will amaze everyone once
again is how hopelessly clueless we all are -- the Clinton
administration, Congress, the media. The media keep reporting a $1.6
billion spending bill to help Colombia combat drug traffickers as
though it were just that simple.

We are all under the happy illusion that the money we're sending to
Colombia will be used to combat drug traffickers. Actually, there's
every likelihood that some of it will go to drug traffickers.

The civil war in Colombia has been going on for 40 years. About 40
percent of the country is now under the control of FARC -- the Fuerzas
Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia.

FARC started out protecting poor campesinos. The drug boom of the '90s
caused landless peasants from all over the country to flock to the
southern portion of the country to grow cocaine -- and FARC protects
them. FARC claims that it is not directly involved in the drug
traffic, but it taxes growers and transporters, and is obviously
dependent on them.

Meanwhile, we have the government of Colombia, which does not control
the army; the army is pretty much out of control. And to the right of
the army are the paramilitary defense forces, a nasty bunch of thugs
given to murder, massacre, kidnapping and drug dealing.

Still, just to prove that someone in Congress has some sense, Rep.
Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., tried to add $1.3 billion for drug treatment
and prevention in the United States but lost on a party-line vote.
Most of them think it would be more fun to send Blackhawk helicopters,
speedboats and planes, and the U.S. trainers and advisers and all that
good stuff we all remember so well.

I always like these policies where we're funding both sides in a war.