WHICH WAY FOR THE U.S. ON COLOMBIA?

Unimaginable as it may have seemed a year ago, the narco-quagmire known as
Colombia has become even more treacherous and threatens to drag the United
States in even deeper. It's a dilemma that can neither be ignored nor
quickly resolved. A measured, long-term strategy is far more likely to
succeed.

The democratically elected President Andres Pastrana took office a year ago
amid exultation that, after more than 40 years of bloodletting, he might
negotiate a peace between the Colombian government and two leftist
guerrilla groups. With stunning bravado Pastrana pulled the army out of a
Switzerland-size area as a good-faith gesture before face-to-face talks.

By now, though, most hopes for an early peace deal have dissipated, along
with Pastrana's popularity. The demilitarized zone has become a haven for
the larger of the two guerrilla factions, the FARC, which instead of
negotiating has launched several offensives.

Meanwhile, the growing chaos and an earthquake that hit one of the most
important coffee-growing regions have hobbled Colombia's economy, for
decades one of the fastest-growing in the region.

All this bad news directly affects the United States. Colombia's production
of narcotics and shipments to the U.S. have exploded during the past three
years. The narco-corruption is such that even the wife of the American
colonel directing U.S. anti-drug operations in Colombia recently was
implicated in trafficking, along with several U.S. embassy employees.

The crash last month of a U.S. military reconnaissance plane, killing five
Americans and two Colombians, also made Americans aware of the presence of
about 200 military advisers in Colombia, which now is the third-largest
recipient of U.S. military aid, after Egypt and Israel.

Tough talk about fighting drugs always plays well politically, so both the
Clinton administration and Republicans in Congress are talking of throwing
hundreds of millions of additional dollars in military and drug
interdiction aid into the Colombian fray.

Without question, the Colombian government needs some additional
assistance. But military force alone will not bring peace or staunch the
torrent of drugs. A comprehensive American strategy ought to include:

- - Continued U.S. support for the democratically elected Pastrana government
and its peace initiative, fruitless though it has been so far. In the short
term that will mean increases in American military aid, to counteract the
estimated $600 million raised by the guerrilla groups from kidnappings and
protection of narcotraffickers. The Colombian army has scored some
successes against recent guerrilla offensives and Pastrana can't be
expected to negotiate a fair settlement with his back to the wall.

- - Avoidance of direct U.S. military intervention beyond the current small
group of advisers. Other Latin countries would reflexively come out against
it--Brazil and Ecuador already have--and the American people might very
well also.

- - Insistence on decisive action by the Pastrana government against the
murderous right-wing paramilitary units roaming the country. These have
been linked to all manner of atrocities, often with the tacit cooperation
of the Colombian army.

- - Substantially greater amounts of American aid to support further reform
of Colombia's judiciary, whose ineptitude and dysfunction contributes to
the lawlessness in the country.

Even without the narcotics factor, Colombia would be too important
geographically and economically for the U.S. to ignore. But any effective
strategy has to be long-term and multifaceted--including more effective
policies at home to help curb the seemingly insatiable American appetite
for Colombian narcotics.