WAR ON DRUGS LOST IN COLOMBIA

PALATINE - The war on drugs is not working in Colombia and could drag
America into a civil war, U.S. Sen. Peter Fitzgerald told students
Wednesday.

He was invited to Walter R. Sundling Junior High School by LaVerne Irwin's
eighth-grade history class.

During a question-and-answer session with the 28-student class, an
eighth-grader asked Fitzgerald where it would be appropriate for America to
intervene militarily.

"We should only get involved in other countries, like Iraq, when our own
interests are at stake," Fitzgerald said, noting a connection between Saddam
Hussein and terrorism.

However, America's involvement in Colombia might not be such a good idea,
Fitzgerald said.

The federal government has sent money and military advisers to Colombia
since the 1980s to try to stamp out cocaine production and trafficking in
that country. But the situation is muddy, Fitzgerald said, and what the
United States has done has not worked.

"Our country has spent lots of money over the years trying to help the
Colombian government with the war, their war on drugs, but actually, the
drug problem has gotten worse, it seems, the more money we've put in,"
Fitzgerald said.

"And sometimes, if we get involved in these civil wars, it's hard to tell if
you're on the right side. In the Colombian government, the fact of the
matter is there has been some history of corruption."

To complicate maters, American companies make money off the war, Fitzgerald
told the students.

"I was lobbied to support money for the war on drugs in Colombia, and the
ones who were lobbying for it were helicopter manufacturers who knew that
the money was going to be used to buy their helicopters to give them to the
Colombian government," Fitzgerald said.

After his tour of the school, Fitzgerald elaborated on his comments .

"The part of the war on drugs that's been focused on involving the United
States in the civil war in Colombia is not helpful," he said. "I don't see
that we've had any success in combating drugs in Colombia to this point, at
least not a sufficient success to merit funding for that effort.

"I think we have the potential for bogging ourselves down in something that
is somewhat of a hopeless situation there."

Earlier in his visit to the junior high, Fitzgerald sat down for a live
interview broadcast throughout the school via closed-circuit television.

Fitzgerald talked about a teacher in grade school who inspired him to enter
politics. He also spoke about how he spends his time and how difficult it is
for him to make decisions on some issues, such as the expansion of O'Hare
International Airport.

Interviewer and eighth-grader Kate Lamberta also asked Fitzgerald what he
plans to do after his term ends. Fitzgerald has said he will not seek a
second term in the U.S. Senate.

Other than spending more time with his wife and 10-year-old son, the
Republican senator said he is not sure about his future plans .

"It's too soon for that," he said. "I still have two years left in my term."

Lamberta said she had met Fitzgerald several times through her parents.
Still, she was noticeably nervous, fidgeting during the interview.

"It was a little nerve-racking," she said.

The school's TV studio includes a control room and three cameras similar to
the equipment used in public access cable.

Elsewhere in the school, Fitzgerald said he was impressed when he toured
classrooms equipped with computer systems to simulate household and career
tasks, and laptop computers linked to a wireless network.

Sundling Junior High, a few miles from Fitzgerald's Inverness home, has won
several awards for excellence in the past 10 years from the U.S. Department
of Education.

"This school is very blessed. It has resources that a lot of other schools
don't have, but it also has an outstanding teaching staff. In addition, I
think the parents in the area devote a lot to their children's education,"
Fitzgerald said. "I don't think it's possible for every school to be quite
like this, but we need to do what we can to try and bring other schools in
the state and the nation up to this level."

To do that, schools need more money for computers and dedicated teachers,
Fitzgerald said, but money will not be enough.

"We can't solve everything. Part of it is the families, too, and families
have to be committed," he said. "These kids are lucky to have families who
are in a position to help them out perhaps more than families in
less-affluent parts of the state."