US OFFICIAL SEES 5 YR FIGHT TO STEM DRUGS FROM COLOMBIA

WASHINGTON (AP)--It will probably take five years for intensified U.S.
efforts against Colombian narcotics traffickers to succeed, the Clinton
administration's top anti-drug official told Congress on Tuesday.

Gen. Barry McCaffrey, director of the Office of National Drug Control
Policy, offered the assessment as he and other administration officials
defended President Bill Clinton's proposed $1.6 billion plan to fight coca
producers and their heavily armed guerrilla allies in the South American
country and its neighbors.

Though some of the money would be for continued anti-drug efforts in nearby
Bolivia and Peru, the bulk of it would go to Colombia, which U.S. officials
say is by far the world's leading cocaine producer.

So far, despite support by House Speaker Dennis Hastert, Clinton's plan has
run into significant skepticism in Congress. Critics say they fear the
proposal could lead the U.S. into another open-ended, Vietnam-like
intervention, and that the money would be better spent trying to control the
demand coming from American drug users.

"I personally think we have to think of it as a five-year effort," McCaffrey
told members of the House Appropriations Committee's subcommittee that
oversees foreign aid. By then, he said he believed there would be
"substantial reductions of drug production."

Subcommittee Chairman Sonny Callahan said that while he supports the
administration proposal, it is in serious trouble in Congress because of
unanswered questions about long-term strategy and other concerns.

"If the bill were to be brought up before the House today, it wouldn't pass
the House," Callahan said.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the subcommittee's ranking Democrat, said she opposed the
current plan and warned that its approval would mean "a five to 10-year
commitment which will cost U.S. taxpayers in excess of $5 billion."

Colombian government efforts to combat coca growers and the 25,000 leftist
rebels and right-wing paramilitary groups who protect them have had little
success recently.

The $1.6 billion Clinton wants, to be spent this year and next, would be
used to provide Colombia with 63 helicopters and for training, intelligence
assistance and other aid to the country's military. It also includes money
to entice Colombian coca farmers to produce other crops and to buttress the
country's judicial system.

With some lawmakers warning that the proposal could result in American
troops being killed, McCaffrey said only Colombian forces would carry out
military operations. Currently, there are up to 200 American military
personnel in Colombia, a number that varies daily, McCaffrey said.

"There is no thinking at all, zero, for U.S. military intervention in
Colombia," he said.