39 years of war in Colombia, and it might just be getting started
Do You Know Where The "Next Vietnam" Might Be?
There is so much going on with Iraq that it's easy to overlook another deployment of U.S. forces to fight terrorist groups. But these smaller deployments shouldn't be overlooked, for many times they are the genesis of a large and divisive conflict down the road.
Oh, you think I'm talking about the Philippines?
I'm talking about Colombia. Here are the facts, as much I can represent them after a few hours of reading. The U.S. has given over $2 billion in military aid to Colombia since fiscal year 2001(!), which makes Colombia #3 on the list of U.S. foreign military aid. Until now, that aid has been in the form of military "aides" and "advisors", and also a ton of helecopters to assist in two primary functions, eradicating drugs and protecting an oil pipline which has been subjected to hundreds of attacks in the last two years.
The combatants in this war are the Colombian state military, and at least two Marxist groups which are heavily involved in the drug trade (not to say that the Colombian government, or other governments, aren't involved in that trade in their own right).
Last week, a small plane carrying what the U.S. is calling "defense department contractors assisting in fighting the drug war" went down. A U.S. miliary man and a Colombian were shot at the scene of the crash, and the other three were taken into the jungle as hostages. President Bush has ordered 150 Special Forces troops to the region, which brings our troop total over 400. This is important, because there is legislation which caps our troop involvement at 400, but Bush can take special action because the leftist groups are designated as terrorist groups, and therefore he has broad executive authority to send money, troops, "contractors", "advisors", etc.
I am not writing to say that what we are doing down there is right or wrong. I don't know enough about what we are doing down there, and I don't think very many people really can say that they do know what's going on. Certainly, the nexus of the drug war, a lucrative oil pipeline, and a dramatic spike in aid to Colombia during the Bush Administration could make those of us who are less than trustful of Bushco wonder what's really going on down there. But we've been in Colombia throughout many U.S. administrations, and it sounds to me like there's enough innocent blood on everybody's hands to get overly selective about placing blame.
I'm writing because I noticed the headline this Saturday about Bush's order sending the troops, and I honestly had no idea any of this stuff was going on. And it dawned on me that of all the Important Things happening in our world, this could end up being one of them. And it is so below the radar. At least it was below my radar.
I had this image of sitting next to a military person on a plane, and asking where they had served, and they would say "Colombia". What would have come to my mind before I read about this, I can't say, but this is what I picture now: Jungle warfare. Marxist leftists. A local government that depends on massive U.S. intervention and "training" to fight the battle. Resentment of U.S. investment of time and money to engage in force and asset protection that might turn into something larger. A bewildered and fearful populace caught in between, or with vague alliances that might need to be "discovered". Sound familiar?
12:00:33 PM 
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