U.S. COPTERS CAN'T FLY IN COLOMBIA DRUG WAR

Vietnam-era Hueys grounded by age; Washington political squabbles delay
money for maintenance

U.S. Gen. Charles Wilhelm, left, is welcomed by Colombian Gens. Jose
Serrano and Manuel Bonett as he arrives at anti-narcotics base Tuesday. The
Colombians want new U.S. copters.

SAN JOSE DEL GUAVIARE, Colombia -- On an airstrip at this base in the
sweltering heart of a no-man's land roamed by Marxist guerrillas, drug
traffickers and paramilitary death squads sits a row of six Huey UH-1H
helicopters, the primary weapon Colombian police have to combat the flow of
drugs to the United States and the spread of lawlessness here.

But the helicopters can't fly. They are part of an aging fleet of 36 Hueys
provided to Colombia by the United States -most of which have been grounded
over the past two months because of mechanical problems.

Helicopters are vital to drug interdiction because there are no roads
through this jungle, distances are vast, detection of laboratories from the
ground is virtually impossible and access by river is slow and dangerous.

But the Hueys were grounded because of structural flaws brought on by age;
most were used in the Vietnam War. In the past 10 days, 15 of the 36
helicopters have undergone testing and emergency repairs that allow them to
resume flying temporarily, according to State Department officials.

In addition to stalling interdiction activities, grounding the helicopters
has fanned an already acrimonious debate between the White House and
congressional Republicans over the type of anti-drug aid the United States
should give Colombia, which produces 80 percent of the world's cocaine and
a growing portion of its heroin.

The dispute has led to a congressional freeze on $36 million that the
administration wanted to spend in Bolivia and Colombia to pay for drug
eradication and crop substitution programs.

Not only do drug traffickers exercise considerable influence in this
region, but some traffickers are closely allied with Marxist guerrillas of
the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, while others are closely allied
with right-wing paramilitary groups.

The Clinton administration is trying to walk a fine line, aiding the police
and army in combating drug trafficking without getting involved in
counterinsurgency -- a line senior administration officials admit is often
blurred at best.

Many in Congress, especially on the Republican side, are pressing the
administration to take a more active role and to increase aid to the
military and police because of increased rebel activity in recent months.

Rep. Benjamin A. Gilman, R-N.Y., who chairs the Committee on International
Relations, has been demanding the administration upgrade the Colombian
police's helicopter fleet. Nonbinding language urging the purchase of three
Black Hawk helicopters was in the fiscal 1997 budget.

The State Department argues that the Hueys can be upgraded and repaired
much more cheaply and the Colombian police do not have the training or
budget to maintain the Black Hawks.

Gilman, in a letter sent Monday to Thomas Pickering, undersecretary of
state for political affairs, accused the administration of "trying to fight
the war on drugs on the cheap" and said upgrading the existing fleet of
Hueys had been promised by the administration for the past two years but
never carried out.

"It makes no sense to merely upgrade 40-year-old equipment that is already
grounded or not operating and cannot survive crashes or ground fire as well
as the Black Hawk," Gilman wrote. "Let's get serious and fight this scourge
with the tools and equipment our good friends
want and need to fight our
fight, at its source."

Checked-by: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)