U.S. ANTI-DRUG CHIEF PROPOSES $1 BILLION FOR COLOMBIAN WAR AID FOR ARMY IN
FIGHT AGAINST LEFTIST GUERRILLAS

Alarmed by recent advances by Colombian guerrillas who are accused of
protecting drug traffickers, the Clinton administration's top anti-drug
official is asking that the United States give $1 billion in emergency
assistance to the Colombian government.

The request by Gen. Barry McCaffrey, director of the Office of National
Drug Control Policy, comes as Colombia's defense minister and the chief of
its armed forces are in Washington on an official visit. In meetings
yesterday and on Thursday, the Colombian officials said they are seeking an
additional $500 million in U.S. aid over the next two years.

``We are preparing modern armed forces that, if peace can be achieved, will
guard our borders and natural resources,'' said Defense Minister Luis
Fernando Ramirez. ``That is the country we dream of. But we are also
preparing the armed forces for war, if need be.''

In a series of attacks beginning July 8, units of the Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia (FARC), the country's main leftist guerrilla group, came
within 25 miles of the capital before being driven back. On July 10,
President Andres Pastrana imposed a limited curfew in 10 of Colombia's 32
provinces but has also said he plans to go ahead with peace talks with the
guerrillas that are scheduled to begin Monday.

McCaffrey's recommendation, which would dramatically increase U.S. support
for Colombia's armed forces if approved, calls for $1 billion in
``emergency drug supplemental'' assistance for Colombia and other
drug-producing countries during the fiscal year beginning in October.

The request is contained in a letter and discussion paper he sent to
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Attorney General Janet Reno,
copies of which were obtained by the New York Times.

Before meeting with Ramirez and Gen. Fernando Tapias in Washington
yesterday, McCaffrey said he would ``not publicly discuss the details'' of
any recommendations he has made to other U.S. officials. But he made it
clear that he strongly favors the Colombians' request for increased U.S.
support.

``Colombia is in a near-crisis situation,'' he said. ``This is an
emergency.'' He added that, because ``criminal trafficking organizations
have done serious damage to Colombian national security over the past few
years,'' the United States has an obligation to ``support the Colombian
government as it attempts to reassert democratic control over its
drug-producing regions.''

In a briefing Thursday at the School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Ga.,
Gen. Charles Wilhelm, commander-in-chief of the U.S. Southern Command,
played down recent guerrilla gains, saying the insurgents ``have not had a
single real tactical success.''

Formally, all U.S. aid to Colombia, which produces most of the world's
cocaine and most of the heroin consumed in the United States, is intended
for anti-drug rather than counter-insurgency efforts. But in practical
terms, the distinction is fading, as Tapias made clear Thursday when he
said, ``The aid we are seeking is to fight drug traffickers and any group
that helps them.''

After meeting several U.S. senators Thursday, Ramirez said Colombia wants
the money to buy more military helicopters, interceptor planes and radar
equipment. In remarks carried in yesterday's Bogota newspapers, he said
Colombia also ``hopes to obtain on loan some of the equipment the Southern
Command had at Howard Air Force Base in Panama'' before closing operations
there in May.

But the McCaffrey proposal would provide much more aid in a shorter time
than the Colombians are seeking. The emergency aid would include $360
million to bolster existing anti-drug operations in southern Colombia, and
an additional $130 million ``to establish Colombia's ability to interdict
in southern Colombia,'' a region increasingly dominated by the guerrillas.