TERROR FIGHT MOVES TO THE FORE IN U.S.-Colombia Talks

WASHINGTON - President-elect Alvaro Uribe of Colombia emerged from the
White House on Thursday declaring that he had found ''great determination''
in President Bush to help Colombia's struggle against drug-financed terrorism.

''We are on the right track,'' Uribe said after a half-hour meeting with
National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. Bush stopped in for part of the
session.

For their part, U.S. officials voiced resolve to help embattled Colombia
combat outlaw armies roaming the country, even as analysts warned of new
signs that the South American nation's countryside is falling deeper into
the hands of guerrillas and outlaw militias.

''We are going to help Colombia in everything that may be necessary for it
to win this war,'' said Otto Reich, an assistant secretary of state who
attended several meetings with Uribe.

Uribe's meeting with Bush marked a watershed of sorts in U.S.-Colombian
relations. For the first time in probably two decades, another issue --
counter-terrorism -- moved sharply to the fore alongside drug trafficking
to dominate bilateral relations.

Since the Sept. 11 terror attacks, U.S. officials have repeatedly stressed
that Colombia faces a terrorist threat from outlaw groups fueled by the
narcotics industry.

Two leftist rebel groups and a rightist paramilitary army in Colombia are
now on a U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations.

''I have found great determination in President Bush to help in everything
to do with the struggle against terrorism,'' Uribe said after the White
House meeting.

In a major shift, Congress is likely within days to approve a Bush
administration proposal to allow U.S. aid to Colombia to be used for
counter-insurgency, as well as counter-narcotics, programs.

Washington has allotted nearly $2 billion in aid to Colombia in the past
three years.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Bush ''reiterated U.S. support for
Colombia in its efforts to counter both narcotics trafficking [and]
terrorism'' and noted that the two leaders ``talked about the need to fight
terrorism within the framework of democratic institutions and full respect
for human rights.''

Uribe, who takes office Aug. 7, won a landslide victory in May among
Colombians fed up with terrorist bombings, attacks and kidnappings.

Reich said the Colombian told the White House he wants to double the
nation's corps of professional soldiers to 100,000 men and plans ``to
increase the proportion of the budget dedicated to the war.''

Uribe said he would change the nature of Plan Colombia, a U.S.-backed plan
designed to reduce illicit cocaine and heroin production in the nation, to
boost air interdiction of drug-laden aircraft along with more efficient
interdiction on highways, rivers and the sea.