A MILESTONE, BUT WHAT'S NEXT?

It says something about the state of things in Colombia that a major
achievement of that South American country's president is that he survived
his first year in office -- literally.

Sure enough, President Alvaro Uribe has emerged unscathed after a variety
of assassination attempts in the past 12 months, including one on the day
of his swearing-in ceremony in August 2002. And he has also emerged with a
70 percent approval rating, public backing from Washington and, perhaps,
the upper hand in the decades-old battle with the rebel group FARC.

Roughly 3,500 people, mostly civilians, are killed each year in Colombia's
civil war, which pits the government, the FARC and paramilitary groups
against each other. Human-rights groups have accused each side of abuses
that bolster the cycle of violence.

Colombian government figures show an increase in rebel desertions and a
decrease in kidnappings and homicides. Uribe is also cutting Colombia's
bloated government bureaucracy. While Uribe's popularity rockets, polls
show the FARC is widely unpopular among Colombians.

Washington views these developments with favor, as it should. The U.S.
government has spent more than $2 billion since 1999 to train Colombian
troops, provide helicopters to aid attacks on insurgents and battle cocaine
production, whose profits fuel the war.

Colombian officials say they are getting U.S. help in surveillance flights
to intercept planes suspected of trafficking drugs. The program was called
off two years ago when the Peruvian military, acting on U.S.- supplied
intelligence, shot down a plane carrying an American missionary and his family.

U.S. officials are clearly optimistic about Colombia's direction. "They
have in fact, in my view, turned the corner," said Gen. James T. Hill, the
U.S. military commander for Latin America and the Caribbean.

The question now is where does turning this latest corner lead Colombia
and, in turn, U.S. policy?

Colombia's battle against the leftist, drug-financed FARC has had many ups
and downs over the past four decades. The pendulum swings back and forth,
but never rests for long in one side's corner.

So, with the tide turning, it's a good time to ask Colombian and U.S.
officials to spell out the long-term goals and objectives. Is this a war to
finish off the FARC? If so, do the resources and political will to complete
this mission exist in Washington and Bogota? Or is the purpose to reach a
plateau of stability that creates some margin of tranquility in Colombia,
and a reduction in drug exports to America?

The answers to those questions are as important as the latest milestones in
Colombia's civil war.