COLOMBIA FIGHTS FOR EXISTENCE

General says nation is democratic, but is battling to survive

As U.S. Special Forces units enter the mounting violence in Colombia, the
commander of Colombia's army described his country as in a battle for its
very existence.

"We are a democratic country fighting for its survival," said Gen. Carlos
Ospina Ovalle during a visit Wednesday to Fort Benning. "We are fighting
hard against drug traffickers, guerrillas and all those bad guys in an
honest and legal way."

Ospina's visit, part of a tour of American bases organized by Army Chief of
Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki, comes less than two weeks after U.S. Special
Forces were deployed to Colombia to train Ospina's forces in defending a
U.S.-owned oil pipeline frequently targeted by rebels. The deployment marks
a shift in U.S. policy toward Colombia in which U.S. soldiers, who had been
operating there ostensibly as counter-narcotics operatives, now face the
real possibility of operating there as combat forces.

During a brief interview at the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security
Cooperation, Ospina said Colombia is expecting "support" from the institute
during his country's "difficult moments."

The institute, which trains Latin American military and police officers in
counter-drug operations, among others, is providing students with "moral
values," Ospina said.

"Values are forever," he said.

Ospina, appointed last August by Colombian President Alvaro Uribe to head
the Colombian army, has faced harsh criticism by human rights groups for
alleged ties to right-wing paramilitary groups.

The general said his army is "composed of honest and loyal men and women,
seeking the welfare of our country and people."

Ospina served one year as an instructor at the institute's controversial
predecessor, the U.S. Army's School of the Americas. Asked about differences
between the institute and the School of the Americas, Ospina said both
employed skilled instructors.

The institute "continues to present very good instruction and continues to
teach techniques and tactics in a very honest way," Ospina said. "The
instructors I met 20 to 25 years ago were good men, good instructors and
very good Americans who were always willing to help students from other
countries."