U.S. ADOPTING NEW STRATEGY TO AID COLOMBIA

MIAMI (AP) - American troops will train Colombian soldiers and police to
help them take control of a region of the country crawling with rebels and
paramilitaries, a senior U.S. military officer said.

The training by U.S. special forces is part of a larger American effort to
help Colombia battle insurgents who have waged war in the South American
country for 38 years.

In the past, U.S. military aid focused on stemming the flow of cocaine and
heroin from Colombia and depriving rebels and their paramilitary foes of
drug profits. But the United States now plans to directly help Colombia
attack the outlawed groups.

"Our approach to Colombia recognizes that the problem in Colombia is much
more than drugs," Army Brig. Gen. Galen Jackman said. "The problem there is
basically a crisis of governance, where the Colombians are not able to
provide a safe and secure environment."

Jackman laid out details of the new U.S. plan in a rare encounter with
journalists at the headquarters of the U.S. Southern Command on Friday.
Congress is preparing to provide about $95 million more to train and equip
two Colombian army brigades.

As part of the move, U.S. officials are scrapping a presidential directive,
imposed by former President Clinton, that permits the United States to
share intelligence with Colombia only when it deals with drug trafficking,
Jackman said. That stipulation is expected to be dropped in a new version
being written by the Bush administration.

"We need to treat (the rebels and paramilitaries) as they are, which are
terrorist organizations ... and we need to help the Colombians deal with
those organizations," said Jackman, the director of operations for the U.S.
Southern Command.

Jackman stressed that there are no plans to involve U.S. forces in combat
in Colombia, nor to raise the troop cap from the current level of 400.

"I think this is a lesson that we learned out of Vietnam. This is the
Colombian's war to win," Jackman said. "They have to step up to fight."

Starting in October, U.S. special forces are expected to begin training the
Colombian Army's 18th and 5th Brigades in specialized warfare to protect a
pipeline that carries oil owned by Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum
and hunt down rebels who have attacked it, Jackman said. They will also get
U.S. combat helicopters.

"I think these brigades that we're talking about will be very offensively
oriented - that is focused on the enemy as opposed to static defense around
the pipeline," Jackman said.

U.S. troops will also train Colombian National Police, Jackman said.

"The idea there is to help secure the pipeline ... secure the region and
get some of the social and economic programs going," Jackman said.

The U.S. military trainers will operate in an area where rebels have
repeatedly attacked the Colombian army and police. Jackman said the safety
of the U.S. troops is "a concern" but that the Americans will be well protected.