> [NOTE: While the U.S. public is deluged with the media's
> prurient fascination with President Clinton's sexual in-
> discretions, the "Vietnamization" of Colombia is inten-
> sifying virtually unexamined. BTW, I love the part that
> talks about how the Clinton administration has "technically
> abided by legal restrictions":-) -DG [Dennis Grammenos]]
>
>
==========================================
> ... tens of millions of taxpayer
dollars
> are going into a covert operations
across
> southern Colombia employing, among
others,
> U.S. Special Forces, former Green
Berets,
> Gulf War veterans and even a few
figures
> from covert CIA-backed operations in
> Central America during the 1980s.
Some
> have been involved in direct combat
with
> Colombian guerrillas, the sources
said.
>_________________________
==========================================
>DALLAS MORNING NEWS
>
>Wednesday, 19 August 1998
>
>
> U.S. launches covert program to aid Colombia
> Military, mercenaries hired, sources say
> --------------------------------------------
>
> By Tod Robberson
>
>
>BOGOTA -- A major offensive by leftist guerrillas this month has
dealt a
>serious blow to U.S. anti-narcotics efforts in the primary cocaine-
>producing areas of Colombia, according to participants in
U.S.-directed
>jungle operations here.
>
>The guerrillas' rapidly expanding military might also is raising
difficult
>policy problems for Washington about how to bolster the Colombian
armed
>forces while avoiding the appearance of becoming enmeshed in a
counter-
>insurgency war.
>
>It remains unclear how extensive the damage is to U.S. intelligence-
>gathering, anti-narcotics and other operations in southeastern
Colombia,
>where hundreds of guerrillas overran armed forces bases two weeks
ago. But
>since the rebel offensive began Aug. 3, a U.S. Embassy spokesman
said,
>there has been a "strategic redeployment" of all American personnel
>working under government contract in the zone of conflict.
>
>The spokesman declined to give specifics, but up to 100 Americans
>reportedly had been deployed in the area, mainly at a large armed
forces
>and police base in San Jose del Guaviare, 180 miles southeast of
Bogota.
>
>U.S. intelligence and anti-narcotics sources say the Clinton
>administration has responded to the guerrilla threat by launching a
>multimillion-dollar covert program --employing mercenaries, private
>contractors and active-duty military personnel-- to support the
Colombian
>armed forces. They say the program, which involves live-combat
training
>among other activities, goes well beyond the stated U.S. mission of
>fighting drug traffickers in Colombia.
>
>Critics in Washington question whether such a program could be
designed to
>skirt congressional restrictions on aid to Colombia, particularly
when
>U.S. training, equipment and combat support might be going to army
units
>linked to human rights abuses.
>
>U.S. Ambassador Curtis Kamman declined an interview request to
discuss any
>such U.S. activities here.
>
>Several sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that tens
of
>millions of taxpayer dollars are going into a covert operations
across
>southern Colombia employing, among others, U.S. Special Forces,
former
>Green Berets, Gulf War veterans and even a few figures from covert
>CIA-backed operations in Central America during the 1980s. Some have
been
>involved in direct combat with Colombian guerrillas, the sources
said.
>
>
> Financial support
> -----------------
>
>Since 1990, according to a February report by the Government
Accounting
>Office and other official data, the United States earmarked more than
$830
>million in counternarcotics support to Colombia. Of that, however,
only
>one-third went directly to anti-narcotics assistance, while the
remaining
>two-thirds went for military-related expenditures, the GAO report
said.
>Colombia is slated to receive another $208 million starting next
year.
>
>By contrast, the U.S. Southern Command estimated that in 1995 alone,
the
>largest guerrilla group here, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia,
>or FARC, earned $647 million from protecting drug labs, airstrips and
>illicit-crop plantations.
>
>U.S. officials concede that the increased involvement of guerrillas
in
>trafficking activities has made the U.S. mission in Colombia more
>complicated.
>
>"We would be remiss to not underscore the depth of concern we have,"
said
>White House drug czar Barry McCaffrey during a visit here Aug. 7.
"The
>facts of the matter are that the FARC is heavily involved in
protecting,
>transporting and, in some cases, operating drug labs. It's given them
such
>an enormous source of wealth that, arguably, their firepower, their
pay
>scales, their intelligence services are more sophisticated than that
of
>the [government] forces that guard this democracy."
>
>International human rights groups argue that the linkage between the
>guerrillas and drug traffickers has allowed Washington to expand
covert
>counterinsurgency operations in Colombia without having to face
public or
>congressional scrutiny, particularly on human rights issues.
>
>Since much of the money spent by the U.S. government in Colombia is
covert
>aid, it does not have to be reported publicly, the rights groups say.
>
>"The lack of transparency really is the key," said Robin Kirk, who
>monitors Colombia for Human Rights Watch/Americas. "More or less, the
>Defense Department can spend its chunk of money as it sees fit, and
it's
>impossible to know where it's going. The amount of CIA money being
spent
>in Colombia is impossible to find out."
>
>Carlos Salinas, of Amnesty International in Washington, said he faced
>similar roadblocks in attempting to get an accounting of U.S.
military
>activities during a recent visit to the U.S. Embassy here.
>
>"We were struck by the adamant refusal to provide any details that
would
>lead to a transparent view of U.S. military activities in Colombia,"
he
>said. "Of course, the inevitable question that arises is, if indeed
>nothing wrong is going on there, what is there to hide?"
>
>Sources here said that the Clinton administration has technically
abided
>by legal restrictions on the deployment of active-duty military
personnel
>in zones of conflict by hiring retired Green Berets and other private
>contractors to carry out sensitive jungle operations.
>
>"Of course they have to keep it secret," said an intelligence
operative
>here, who asked not to be identified. "They're up to a lot of things
that
>they shouldn't be." He did not elaborate.
>
>
> 'Shady past'
> ------------
>
>Another participant in U.S. operations said he had flown combat
missions
>over Baghdad during the Gulf War and was involved in covert CIA
operations
>to assist Nicaraguan Contra guerrillas in the late 1980s. The
participant
>said he had flown several missions with Eugene Hasenfus, the sole
American
>survivor of a CIA-backed flight over Nicaragua that was shot down by
>Sandinista troops Oct. 5, 1986.
>
>"To get somebody out there to do those operations, you almost have to
have
>that shady past," said Joe Toft, the former chief of the U.S. Drug
>Enforcement Administration in Colombia.
>
>Others working under U.S. contract here have received not only U.S.
>Special Forces counterinsurgency training but have attended courses
>abroad, including in Russia. There, according to one participant,
they
>were taught how to use some Russian-made military hardware found in
>Colombia as well as counterinsurgency techniques based on Cuban and
>Russian models of guerrilla warfare.
>
>Some personnel participating in U.S. operations here are working
under a
>State Department contract with two private firms based in suburban
>Washington: Dyncorp and East Inc. Officials of both companies said
they
>were not permitted to discuss their operations in Colombia and
referred
>all questions to the State Department. Officials did not return phone
>calls.
>
>Both companies officially are providing pilot training and technical
>support for Colombian illicit-crop eradication flights, according to
U.S.
>officials. But one pilot said he had conducted a number of missions
that
>went well beyond the scope of that definition, including assisting in
the
>deployment of Colombian counterinsurgency troops.
>
>Shortly before the guerrilla offensive began this month, two East
Inc.
>pilots were killed near the military base at San Jose del Guaviare. A
U.S.
>Embassy spokesman said the circumstances of the pilots' deaths were
still
>under investigation. He could not confirm whether the pilots' bodies
or
>the plane wreckage had been recovered.
>
>Dyncorp personnel who were based at San Jose del Guaviare before the
U.S.
>withdrawal said they were under strict orders not to talk to
reporters.
>
>The U.S. Embassy has attempted to discourage reporters from delving
into
>the activities of government-contracted personnel here.
>
>
> Threats made
> ------------
>
>One U.S. reporter who attempted to talk to Dyncorp pilots at San Jose
del
>Guaviare said he was threatened with banishment from the U.S. Embassy
if
>he ever attempted to approach Dyncorp personnel again. Another
reporter
>said he was banned from embassy-sponsored briefings after the
reporter
>quoted a guerrilla leader as saying that U.S. military advisers would
now
>be targeted for attack.
>
>"I can understand why the embassy would be sensitive to anything
appearing
>in the press about the civilian group out there," Mr. Toft said.
"It's for
>the safety of those people. If the guerrillas become aware of them,
they
>[the Americans] could be targeted."
>
>Ms. Kirk and Mr. Salinas, the human rights activists, said the use of
>covert aid and privately contracted personnel is troublesome because
it
>may permit the U.S. Embassy to circumvent restrictions imposed by
Congress
>on aid to Colombian military units linked to human rights abuses.
>
>"If we found that the Department of Defense was using private
contractors
>in ways that are contrary to the intent of the law, that would be
cause
>for great concern," said Tim Rieser, an aide to Sen. Patrick Leahy,
D-Vt.
>"If the administration wants to shift its policy to support counter-
>insurgency activities, then it should come to the Congress, and
Congress
>should debate it."
>
>Under congressional foreign-aid restrictions sponsored by Sen. Leahy,
>military units must be "vetted" of officers with spotty human rights
>records before those units can receive assistance, such as training
and
>equipment, administered by the State Department.
>
>Mr. Rieser said previous Pentagon attempts to avoid applying those
>restrictions prompted Sen. Leahy earlier this month to draft
legislation
>requiring compliance. Although the Defense Department has said it
would
>agree to the proposed law, he said, the CIA rejects such
restrictions.
>
>Some U.S. Special Forces troops currently are allowed to participate
in
>training exercises with Colombian soldiers, both from vetted and
unvetted
>units, under a Pentagon exchange program in existence since 1991.
U.S.
>officials said those American troops have not been assigned to combat
>roles, although they are authorized to fight if fired upon.
>
> Copyright 1998 The Dallas Morning News
>_____________________________________________________________________
____
>*********************************************************************
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