THE U.S. IS USING WRONG APPROACH IN COLOMBIA

Lee Hamilton has good reason to question U.S. aid to Colombia (Aug. 5
column). Not only is our government turning a blind eye to paramilitary
human rights violations, but a very real environmental threat is being ignored.

In an effort to eradicate coca plants, toxic herbicides are sprayed from
above, hitting water supplies, staple crops and people. The aerial
eradication campaign drives peasants farther into the Amazon basin, which
in turn leads to more rain forest destruction.

Colombia could very well spread both coca production and civil war
throughout South America. U.S. tax dollars would be better spent addressing
the underlying socioeconomic causes of civil strife rather than applying
overwhelming military force to attack the symptoms. We're not doing the
Colombian people any favors by funding civil war. Nor are Americans being
protected from drugs.

Destroy the Colombian coca crop, and production will boom in Peru, Bolivia
and Ecuador. Destroy every last plant in South America, and domestic
methamphetamine production will increase to meet the demand for
cocaine-like drugs. The self-professed champions of the free market in
Congress are seemingly incapable of applying basic economic principles to
drug policy. Instead of waging a futile supply-side war abroad, we should
be funding cost-effective drug treatment here at home.

Robert Sharpe, Program officer, Drug Policy Alliance, Washington, D.C.