AIDING COLOMBIA'S WAR ON TERRORISM

WASHINGTON - While the United States' attention is fixed on fighting
terrorism in Afghanistan, the Middle East and Asia, a grave threat lurks in
the Americas. Colombia is the leading theater of operations for terrorists
in the Western Hemisphere. Under the false pretense of a civil war,
Colombian guerrilla groups have ravaged the nation with violence financed
by cocaine consumers in the United States. The Bush administration,
appropriately, is pushing in Congress to have anti-narcotics aid expanded
to strengthen Colombia's ability to defeat terrorists.

Over the last four years, President Andres Pastrana has strengthened
Colombia's relationship with the United States, improved cooperation on
transnational crime and increased the commitment of the Colombian
government and its people to human rights. This week, the State Department
certified Colombia's compliance with human rights guidelines, allowing the
United States to provide military aid. Attorney General John D. Ashcroft
has also moved to support Colombia's efforts. "Just as we fight terrorism
in the mountains of South Asia," he said this week, "we will fight
terrorism in our own hemisphere."

Drugs are the root of almost all violence in Colombia. It is simple:
everywhere there are poppies or coca in Colombia, there are guerrillas and
paramilitaries. The Pastrana administration has moved aggressively to sever
ties between the armed forces and the paramilitary group called the United
Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, which is itself involved in the drug
trade; in 2001 government forces, including police, captured 992
paramilitaries and killed 116.

Where there are guerrillas and paramilitaries, there are terror and
violence against civilians. While they may hide behind a Marxist ideology,
Colombia's leftist guerrillas have ceased to be a political insurgency.
They have traded their ideals for drug profits.

The guerrillas were offered many generous opportunities to declare
themselves for peace and to enter meaningful and legitimate peace talks
with the government. They failed to take these opportunities.

No sector of Colombian society has been spared. Guerrillas with the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known by its Spanish acronym, FARC,
have kidnapped five members of the Colombian Congress, 11 state
legislators, the governor of Antioquia and Ingrid Betancourt, a
presidential candidate. Recently they attempted to assassinate the leading
candidate for president. (The election will take place May 26.) The FARC
has murdered Colombia's minister of culture, Consuelo Araujo, as well as
leading religious figures, human rights workers, labor leaders,
journalists, health care workers, police and military personnel and their
relatives, executives, foreign workers, and thousands of civilians.

Colombians understand that nothing less than the future of our democracy is
at stake in this conflict, and we are united to defend it. The
international community has understood the change in the nature of the
conflict, and is supporting our efforts. Mexico recently closed the FARC's
office. Other governments should also close FARC offices in their nations.

President Pastrana has increased defense spending to its highest level in
our nation's history. We have also increased the number of Colombians
serving in the military and police force to an all-time high. But despite
these efforts, the adversaries of peace continue to spread terror
throughout Colombia. We need America's help.

Soon President Pastrana will leave office. His commitment to resolving the
conflict in Colombia and his personal courage set a very high standard. Yet
I am confident a worthy successor will be elected who is equally committed
to bringing peace to our nation. The terrorists will want to test our new
president quickly. It is critical that the United States show that the
change in administration does not signal a change in America's partnership
with Colombia.

Since this is no longer an ideological war but a narco-terrorist one,
Congress should, continuing in a bipartisan spirit and recognizing our
shared responsibility in the drug war, quickly approve President Bush's
request to allow the Colombian military to use American military equipment
and intelligence in its war against terrorism. In addition, Congress should
pass the long-stalled Andean Trade Preferences Act, which provides
alternatives to the cultivation of coca and poppy plants.

Luis Alberto Moreno is Colombia's ambassador to the United States.