U.S. SHOULD HELP PUSH PEACE PROCESS IN COLOMBIA

After 38 years of civil war, Colombia may be closer than ever to a
real peace process as the government and left-wing rebels begin talks
this week aimed at reaching a cease-fire agreement by April. The
talks' success will hinge on the rebels' willingness to find common
ground with the government over their future inclusion in a democratic
process. That's an uneasy prospect for guerrillas steeped in a violent
form of communist ideology sustained by participation in Colombia's
immense drug trade.

For its part, the government of President Andres Pastrana must control
and eventually break up the right-wing paramilitary groups that have
conducted a terror campaign against guerrillas and their supporters,
in informal alliance with the nation's military.

The United States - though it is not participating directly in the
cease-fire talks - has a vital stake in the outcome. Much of the money
for the civil war over the past two decades has come directly from the
drug trade, which in turn is fueled by American demand. The rebels
have provided security for the drug cartels in the growing areas and
shared in the profits; paramilitaries fighting the rebels have exacted
tribute from drug lords in the cities and also shared in the profits
from cocaine and heroin.

If the civil war is resolved, Colombia will be better able to control
the cultivation of coca and opium poppies and interdict drug
shipments. To that end, Washington is already furnishing Colombia with
$1.3 billion under "Plan Colombia." Some of those funds are being used
to defoliate vast tracts of land where coca and poppies are grown,
causing resentment among Colombian farmers, who say their families and
legitimate crops are harmed. Much of the money, however, is suspected
of being diverted to the army and paramilitaries to fight the rebels
in the civil war.

A cease-fire would benefit everyone in Colombia. Washington, which
also stands to gain, should be more active in promoting it, rather
than maintaining its distance from the process.