MULTINATIONAL DRUGWAR PLAN GAINS SUPPORT by Cox News Service
Copyright (c) 1997, Sentinel Communications Co.

An unusual coalition of liberal Democrats and conservative
Republicans is pushing a proposal by Sen. Paul Coverdell,
RGa., to create a multinational alliance to fight the war
on drugs.

Coverdell's proposal would team the United States with
the hemisphere's largest cocaine and marijuanaproducing
nations to coordinate military strategy, set goals and
negotiate outstanding disagreements over drug enforcement
jurisdiction.

"This is the time to strike on this," said Sen.
Christopher Dodd, DConn., who, next to Coverdell, is the
proposal's most vocal backer.

Backers like the idea because they think more regional
cooperation would help avoid the annual partisan battles
over certification, in which the administration decides
which countries have cooperated in the drug war and are
worthy of U.S. aid. Many Democrats think certification
fights do more harm than good, alienating Latin American
neighbors.

Conservative Republicans such as Coverdell argue that a
multilateral drugwar strategy would be more effective in
cutting and interdicting the supply. It would also give the
drug war higher visibility.

Coverdell's alliance would include the United States,
Mexico, Bolivia, Colombia and Peru. The institutional
framework still has not been worked out, but Coverdell
envisions an entity located in a neutral country, such as
Panama or Guatemala. The alliance might, among other
things, work to remove barriers to international
interdiction. For example, it might forge an agreement
allowing U.S. Coast Guard boats to pursue suspected drug
traffickers in the territorial waters of neighboring
countries.