U.S. SEEKS NEW WAYS TO HELP EMBATTLED COLOMBIA

WASHINGTON -- Colombia is Latin America's most embattled democracy. The
country is buffeted by guerrilla groups of the left and right and by
widespread human rights violations.

War has driven 2 million Colombians from their homes. There are drug
cartels, organized corruption syndicates, the worst economic crisis in a
century and kidnappings at world record levels.

The list of woes is much longer.

The United States has been trying to be helpful, but on most fronts it's
hard to detect much progress. U.S.-sponsored drug eradication has managed
only to slow the rate of increase of illicit crop production. A peace
initiative begun by President Andres Pastrana in 1998 has made little
headway, although hopes for a cease-fire have risen lately.

CIA Director George Tenet said last week that leftist insurgents in
Colombia "who make much of their money from drug trafficking are escalating
their assault on the government, further undermining economic prospects and
fueling a cycle of violence."

Congress supports efforts to counter traffickers who peddle cocaine in U.S.
markets, but lawmakers have been resistant to any U.S. role in helping
Colombia defeat leftist rebels. However, in the post-Sept. 11
anti-terrorism atmosphere, officials believe they have a bit more room to
maneuver.

Of the 30 or so groups designated by the State Department worldwide as
foreign terrorist organizations, three are Colombian -- the FARC and ELN
leftist rebel groups and the AUC rightist paramilitary group.

The FARC has been attempting to paralyze the Colombian economy through
attacks on the infrastructure. It came close to knocking out a dam that
provides water to Bogota.

More successful have been attacks on a 480-mile oil pipeline that runs from
northeastern Colombia to the Caribbean coast. Attacks put the pipeline out
of commission for 266 days last year at a reported cost of $500 million to
the Colombian economy. Also damaged were the interests of the U.S. oil
companies that use it.

Amid misgivings by some in Congress, the Bush administration wants to spend
$98 million to train and equip the Colombian military to protect the
pipeline. It would be the first time support for the military would extend
beyond counternarcotics activities. The administration is hopeful that,
given the anti-terrorism mood these days, Congress won't object to the
policy shift.

The most outspoken critic has been Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., an
influential voice on foreign aid matters. He said the proposal "draws us
further into a military quagmire, and the Congress should be very reluctant
to go down that road."

The administration has visions of also providing training to help the
Colombian military protect other key installations from rebels, including
power plants. It also wants to share intelligence with the Colombian
military to help its pursuit of FARC rebels.

Officials admit they must move in Congress with caution in the more
assertive approach, lest they sabotage the bipartisan congressional
consensus on Colombia. Congress approved $1.3 billion in assistance two
years ago and an additional $439 million this year.

It imposed human rights performance requirements that Colombia must meet or
face an aid cut. At month's end, the administration is expected to certify
compliance with the requirements.

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Washington Office on
Latin America are likely to challenge the certification. All said last week
that the rights situation in Colombia has deteriorated.