STILL ARMING TERRORISTS

To the editor:

Re: Still Hope in Colombia (Opinion, Jan. 23).

Over the past year the Bush administration has received tremendous
criticism for their financing the Colombian civil war in the name of
the drug war. Recognizing this, they now are re-spinning the 37-year-
old conflict as "the good guys vs. the terrorists."

It should be noted that the "good guys'" record for restraint and
their record for respecting human rights leave quite a bit to be
desired-starting with its close ties to the paramilitary death
squads, which were recently placed on the State Department's list of
terrorist organizations. If President Bush is serious about declaring
war on all regimes harboring terrorists, what are we doing arming one
of these regimes to the teeth?

Stephen Heath

Clearwater, Fla.