Posted on 05/10/2003 10:41:13 AM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
Democrats Fight Bush on Colombia
May 9: Colombian President Uribe met with President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, trade representatives, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, CIA Director George Tenet, 25 congressmen and businessmen during a five-day stay in Washington that ended Saturday.
The Colombian president visited the U.S. to lobby for sustainable aid to Colombia amid Democrat protests of too high a budget for the South American country. Bush and Uribe were allies during war in Iraq and agree on several lines of policy, not least in their treatment of terrorism.
The majority of Democrats in Congress complained about the deterioration of human rights in Colombia and not only opposed the $105 million extension of the aid package to Colombia, included in the extra costs of war debated in February, but also refuse to maintain the $700 million aid offered for the Plan Colombia next year.
The Plan Colombia is a $7.5 billion multi-year comprehensive strategy designed to bring about lasting peace by reducing the production of illegal drugs, revitalizing the economy and strengthening government institutions. The implementation of Plan Colombia is worth $7.5 billion over five years. Though Colombia is providing the vast majority of those funds, $4.9 billion, the U.S. has committed to disbursing $1.5 billion over the five years.
A Democrat congressman said to the Washington Post that he did not feel too much chemistry when meeting with Uribe. Democrats accused the Uribe administration of consenting to links between the military forces and the paramilitaries of Colombia, auto-defense units formed in the countryside to counter guerrilla attacks.
On a happier note, Colombia succeeded in signing an accord that marks the resumption of a military program under which U.S. warplanes can over fly Colombian territories to search for drugs, but also for arms, an extension to the previous program.
President Uribe asked to study the possibility of using the “Predator” airplanes used for war in Iraq in Colombia. Wolwofitz responded that it would be a matter that needed careful consideration as the U.S. has only started to close the chapter of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The planes, Uribe said, were key for rescue operations, such as the one that may be planned to free the three U.S. hostages held captive by Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC), the largest guerrilla group in Colombia.
“The failure to rescue many of the hostages”, said Uribe “can be not attributed to the lack of political will, but to the lack of technical assistance and sophisticated equipment. That is what we need to crush terrorism in Colombia.”
World Concerned About Venezuela
May 8: The Groups of Friends, composed of Brazil, the U.S., Chile, Spain, Portugal and Mexico, is meeting the secretary general of the Organization of American States in Caracas to convene with the Venezuelan government and the opposition in its third meeting “on site” after its launch on Jan. 15. The group of countries sends foreign affairs secretaries to facilitate negotiations between the factions, which are in turn being facilitated by the OAS.
The negotiations table has been grossly ignored and disrespected by the government of Hugo Chavez, who has stood up Secretary General Gaviria on several occasions. The last of attempts to negotiate a solution was a 22-point accord jointly prepared at the table on April 23, which the government then failed to sign. Since then, headquarters of the round-table discussions have been bombed and talks had not resumed until yesterday.
The panel tries to find a concerted exit strategy to the political crisis and has evolved to have as its main objective to provide for international support of a civilized and constitutional referendum, which would question Chavez’s tenure.
Headed by Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva, the Group of Friends has done little to provide incentives to solve the stalemate. It has been very cautious about issuing opinionated statements, which makes some think that economic interests are shaping its attitude.
Brazil’s president met with Chavez about 10 days ago in Recife to discuss economic cooperation between the two countries. Chavez left the meeting stating that Lula had consented to issue a series of loans to his administration, now concerned with the agrarian reform. In December, the Venezuelan Aviation Forces had bought 12 AMX-T airplanes, used by NATO during the Kosovo bombardments in 1999 during a visit of Chavez to Brazil.
The government of Venezuela has recently announced its stance with respect to the Group of Friends, saying that its role had to be one of reserve with regard to the situation of Venezuela, assuring that it is not of their concern to interfere with the internal affairs of the country. In January, Chavez had openly requested the diplomatic effort following the opposition’s initial demand after having been advised by “Lula.”
The majority of Venezuelans, 84 percent of who still believe in a democratic and electoral solution to the crisis see today’s meeting as the last chance for democracy to prevail.
10 Colombian Hostages Killed During Rescue Attempt
May 6: Ten hostages were killed Monday during a rescue operation carried out by the Colombian military.
The governor of the Colombian province of Antioquia, Guillermo Gaviria, and peace commissioner to the governor, Gilberto Echeverri, were two of the victims, part of a larger group of hostages. The two were walking in a peace protest in Antioquia in April of last year when Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) kidnapped them.
According to a governmental declaration the operation did not reach the combat phase. The declaration stated that “guns were fired neither during the descent, nor during the mobilization of the troops.”
Special forces officers said they used loudspeakers to call on the kidnappers, members of the largest guerrilla group in the country, to release the hostages.
Local broadcasters gave away on Monday that 75 men, part of an elite rescue unit, flew over the area with six helicopters. According to some of the survivors, a guerrilla soldier ordered the two men to be killed as soon as he heard the helicopters flying over the area.
A communiqué by the guerrilla group talked about a military operation of more than 600 men who were being transported by air and attributed the deaths to President Uribe. It said the president “is convinced that he will manage to rescue the hostages with the use of blood and fire.”
A growing liberal lobby had managed to initiate discussions of humanitarian efforts to free 67 civil servants who are held captive by the terrorist group against the release of hundreds of guerrilla soldiers who have been imprisoned. Mothers, wives and children of the 67 begged the government to avoid rescue operations and to continue working on the humanitarian exchange.
The incident has polarized the country, where the vast majority of Colombians support the president’s policies and a smaller percentage still believes in negotiations.
The guerrilla group, on the other hand, promises to become more radical than ever. It prefers dead hostages to dealing with rescue operations.
The battle against terrorism is intensifying in Colombia, and chances are that the administration will continue to harden its stance against the guerrillas.
That's reaaaaaaaaallllllllllllyyyyy big news, NOT. BUSH probably wouldn't look as good as he does without the DEMONRATS fighting him and LOSING so often.
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