Monday, March 10, 2003

[11:48 AM] Several people I discuss Colombia with are quick to throw the Vietnam analogy around—although I could never figure out why just based on the very small number of troops that are allowed there by Congress (400). Now according to this article, the U.S. would like to reduce that number to about zero. I’m sure that please the Vietnam worriers and those who believe U.S. involvement in Colombia is all about enriching defense contractors here in the U.S. But what about the poor Colombians caught up in this 40 year old war? The Colombian armed forces are not strong enough to defeat the 20,000 plus guerrilla insurgents. Here's an excerpt:

The Bush administration has made it clear that the country will have to shoulder more of the military and financial burden of fighting its guerrilla war. U.S. officials have used the words “exit strategy” and “endgame” during recent visits here to describe Washington’s desire to do less in Colombia even as President Alvaro Uribe seeks more U.S. help.

“We’re not looking to put more people in here,” said Marc Grossman, U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs, during a news conference Wednesday in Bogota. “This is a Colombian problem that the Colombians will have to solve.”

I’m not necessarily advocating a stronger U.S. military presence, but there is certainly a middle ground between full-scale involvement and picking up your marbles and going home.

# posted 11:52 AM