COLOMBIAN BID FOR U.S. AID TAKES ABNORMAL ROUTE

Administration Bypassed for House GOP

Faced with a growing threat from Marxist guerrillas allied with drug
traffickers, the Colombian anti-narcotics police, already the largest
recipients of U.S. aid in the hemisphere, are requesting an additional $51
million for guns, ammunition and night-vision equipment for their helicopter
fleet.

But the aid request did not pass through normal diplomatic channels. Gen.
Rosso Jose Serrano, Colombia's police commander, drew up the wish list with
help from Republican leaders in the House of Representatives and and sent it
directly to House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), bypassing not only the
Clinton administration but his own government, according to senior U.S. and
Colombian officials. Serrano is scheduled to testify before a House panel on
his aid request on April 29.

The strategy, which has proved effective in the past, highlights a
long-running and acrimonious rift between the State Department and House
Republican leaders -- Hastert, Dan Burton (Ind.) and Benjamin A. Gilman
(N.Y.) -- over what kind of aid and how much to give to the Colombian police.

Aid is not the only issue in dispute. The Clinton administration infuriated
Republicans by authorizing a mid-level State Department official to meet
with the Marxist-led Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) last
December, even though the FARC is officially designated a terrorist
organization by the State Department.

When the FARC executed three Americans last month, the Republicans asked for
a formal investigation to determine who authorized the contacts.

While the Colombian police are slated to receive some $240 million in
counter-narcotics aid this year, many House Republicans believe they deserve
more and accuse the State Department of dragging its feet on delivering aid.

Last year, over State Department objections, the Republican-led Congress
approved $96 million at Serrano's request to purchase six sophisticated
Black Hawk helicopters. While unhappy with the package, the Clinton
administration did not fight it.

State Department officials say Congress is micromanaging Colombia policy and
undercutting its ability to formulate a coherent strategy that takes into
account not just the war on drugs but the nation's struggle to negotiate an
end to 34 years of civil war.

But so far, neither the Clinton administration nor Colombian President
Andres Pastrana has been willing to block the unorthodox budget moves, in
part because Congress controls the budget and in part because of Serrano's
reputation as a highly effective lawman who dismantled the Medellin and Cali
cocaine cartels.

In particular, U.S. officials are reluctant to rock the boat with either
Serrano or Congress at a time when Colombia seems to be making progress in
improving its military, widely faulted for corruption and disregard for
human rights.

Earlier this month, under heavy U.S. pressure, Pastrana fired two generals
allegedly linked to right-wing paramilitary groups. And the government, with
strong support from Serrano, has promised to extradite four drug traffickers
to the United States. They would be the first such extraditions since 1992.

Aides to senior House Republicans readily acknowledged that they worked with
the police to draw up Serrano's budget request, arguing that normal
diplomatic channels are too slow and unresponsive.

"The war in Colombia, sadly, is being run by the Congress, not the
executive, as it should be," said one influential Republican aide. "The only
strategic thinking comes from the Congress because the State Department
doesn't take things seriously."

State Deparment officials argue they are doing all they can to support
counter-narcotics efforts in Colombia while staying within the legal
guidelines for procuring helicopters and other equipment -- a task they
acknowledge is relatively new to their department.

On March 3, Gilman and Burton, in a joint letter to the State Department's
inspector general, asked for an investigation into the department's Bureau
of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), which handles
counter-narcotics aid. The letter asked the inspector general to audit the
INL and look at the possibility of "moving the INL account out of the State
Department to another agency."

The request infuriated administration officials, who accused the Republicans
of trying to embarrass the White House on the drug issue.

The dispute dates back several years, to a time when the State Department
felt that upgrading the Colombian police's aging fleet of Huey helicopters
was more cost-effective than buying the Black Hawks
- -- the option favored by Burton and Gilman.

According to State Department and congressional sources, of the 35
Vietnam-era Huey UH-1H helicopters owned by the Colombian police, 15 have
been permanently grounded and another seven are undergoing maintenance. The
first three Black Hawks approved last year are due to be delivered at the
end of this year, but their arrival is unlikely to end the dispute.

"We just keep getting hammered and hammered," said one weary Clinton
administration official. "Even if we do everything [the Republicans] want,
they will come back and hammer us again."