BLAIR TAKES LEAD IN WAR ON DRUGS

Tony Blair is to convene an international conference to encourage European
Union countries to do more to tackle Marxist terrorists who control
Colombia's drug trade.

Senior Bush administration officials hailed the initiative as an important
new step in assisting the Oxford-educated President Alvaro Uribe, who is
said to have impressed the Prime Minister in talks at Downing Street last July.

Jose Aznar, the Spanish prime minister, is understood to be another prime
mover behind the conference, to be held in London in July.

The Basque terrorist organisation Eta and the IRA have assisted the
narco-terrorist group Farc (the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia).

Colombian traffickers have recently begun to send more cocaine to Europe,
where it has three times the street value as it does in America, while
increasing the supply of heroin to the United States.

"Around 50 per cent of the cocaine is headed to Europe, mostly through
Spain, so Tony Blair is right on with this," said a US congressional aide.
"Many of the chemical precursors needed to make drugs come from Europe and
this needs to be stopped."

The White House now views Colombia as part of the war against terrorism, a
shift in policy that has led to increased US military support. This means
the conflict there is no longer treated as being primarily about drugs.

"It is a very positive development that Britain is taking the lead," said a
senior Pentagon official. "We have encouraged the Colombians to go to the
British because they have a lot of expertise."

But the conference, which will probably be opened by Bill Rammell, the
Foreign Office minister with responsibility for South America, rather than
the Prime Minister, is likely to fuel criticism from Labour backbenchers
that Mr Blair is neglecting domestic issues.

Mr Uribe, a conservative, has also come under fire from the Left for
alleged human rights abuses. His opponents claim that he has facilitated
Right-wing paramilitaries.

Paul Wolfowitz, the US deputy defence secretary, has met Mr Uribe twice.
The Colombian issue is likely to gain greater prominence now that the Iraq
war is over. Mr Wolfowitz and Mr Blair are said to share the view that the
Colombian leader is a committed democrat.

The meeting, due to take place on July 10, will draw representatives from
the United States, major European countries and non-governmental organisations.

"There is a convergence of interests between the US and Britain on this,"
said the Pentagon official.

He contrasted this with past French actions to boost the initiative to
maintain a Farc "safe haven" in the country. "There was the particularly
nauseating sight of the French ambassador walking around with a little girl
in the safe haven just before the talks collapsed," he said.

"It was totally unrealistic because the Farc were never serious about
peace. It was typical French meddling and focus on process."