COLOMBIAN'S DRUG EFFORTS

To the Editor:

Re " '91 Report Calls Colombian Leader Ally of Drug Lords'' (news
article, Aug. 2):

One of America's strongest allies in our hemisphere is under attack
for information in a decade-old intelligence report. The information,
which was never substantiated as credible, alleged that Alvaro Uribe,
who was then a senator from Antioquia and is now president of
Colombia, was possibly linked to the Medellin drug cartel and its
leader, Pablo Escobar.

These unsubstantiated allegations were raised in 2002 during President
Uribe's political campaign. At that time, the Colombian people
evaluated the accusations and elected him as their president,
confident in his dedication to an agenda intended to rid Colombia of
its narcotics and terrorist problems.

President Uribe's record of antidrug efforts speaks for itself:
Colombian coca cultivation has decreased by almost 33 percent from
2001 to 2003; more than 160 drug traffickers have been extradited to
the United States; and Colombia's military has been transformed into
an aggressive and successful force dedicated to winning the war
against narco-terror.

Mary Beth Long

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Counternarcotics