U.S. LOOKING FOR ANTI-DRUG BASE IN S. AMERICA

LIMA -- The United States is moving cautiously to find a new air base
for anti-drug surveillance in South America in the face of vocal
opposition to the idea in Peru and Colombia.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates met Friday with Peruvian Defense
Minister Allan Wagner, who told reporters a day before Gates arrived
here that the topic would not come up in their meetings.

Both Peru and Colombia have offered to talk to the Pentagon about a
new base location, a senior U.S. defense official said earlier this
week, but he also noted that it wasn't on Gates' agenda Friday.

Gates has said the Pentagon is still looking at alternatives for a new
air base site, and no proposals have been made to anyone yet.

Ecuador President Rafael Correa said in August that the U.S. should
move its anti-drug flights to Colombia after the lease runs out on the
Manta air base in his country in 2009. Correa, who took office in
January, has said repeatedly that he won't extend the agreement that
lets the U.S. military use the base for surveillance flights.

After leaving Colombia earlier this week, Gates told reporters that
the issue did not come up in his discussions with defense and
government officials there.

Gates is on a five-day, five country swing through the region, and has
met with leaders in El Salvador, Colombia, Chile and Peru. He is also
planning a visit to Suriname on Saturday.

The senior defense official, who is traveling with Gates and spoke on
condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, had
initially said that Colombia and Peru had agreed to discuss the issue.
But he stressed that any talks would be very preliminary and there are
no ongoing negotiations.

He added that any decisions will depend on the governing bodies in
each country. Officials have also been reluctant to rule out the
possibility of continuing to use the Manta base, despite Correa's
blunt, public rejections.

Gates was presented with military honors by the Peruvians. He was
awarded the Military Order of Ayacucho, the highest defense medal
given to civilians.

The medal is the named after the Great battle of Ayacucho in 1824, a
key fight in the final campaign against Spanish rule in South America.
It marked the defeat of the last viable Royalist army in South America.