Thus Spake God's Creator; (I don't forgive *****!)
*Plan Colombia up for a vote*
June 24, 2005
Geov Parrish - WorkingForChange.com
06.23.05 - Amidst the disaster that is Iraq, the Pentagon has been fighti=
ng a=20
smaller but no less ugly war. Next week, Congress will decide whether to =
continue sending military aid to Colombia, a country with one of the wors=
t=20
human rights records in the western hemisphere.
The focus of the aid is Plan Colombia, a five-year-old plan that has pour=
ed=20
billions of U.S. dollars into drug crop fumigation and military aid. The =
plan=20
expires this year, and needs Congressional approval to continue. It's a r=
are=20
opportunity to impact U.S. warmaking -- yet, in part because of the=20
subsequent, problematic invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, there has been=
=20
virtually no U.S. media attention on what our tax dollars are assisting i=
n=20
Colombia.
One of the most troubling incidents there happened in February, when eigh=
t=20
members of the Peace Community of San Jos=C3=A9 de Apartad=C3=B3 were mas=
sacred,=20
including four children. One of the victims was community leader and foun=
der=20
Luis Eduardo Guerra. Evidence points to the Colombian army as the authors=
of=20
this crime.
The San Jose de Apartado massacre is consistent with past years, when hum=
an=20
rights groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have=20
relentlessly accused the Colombia Army of having extensive links to right=
wing=20
paramilitary death squads. Those death squads have primarily attacked=20
civilians rather than the government's civil war opponents, the leftist=20
guerillas of FAR C.
Those guerrillas are the main reason Plan Colombia's aid has steadily shi=
fted=20
from drug-interdictment to the even messier business of being directly=20
involved in Colombia's long running, 45-year-old civil war. Next week's v=
ote=20
will be the first time Plan Colombia itself, rather than budgetary alloca=
tions=20
for it, will come up for a Congressional vote -- and the first time that =
Plan=20
Colombia will have come up for a vote in the context of the War on Terror=
=2E
To that end, the Bush administration has actually been painting FARC as a=
=20
terrorist threat to the U.S. -- even though no evidence for such outlandi=
sh=20
claims exists, and FARC has had 45 years to declare that the U.S. is a ta=
rget.=20
Instead, they are very much focused on the urban areas of Colombia, being=
=20
concentrated in the jungle areas of Colombia's south and east.
There are a lot of good arguments for Congress to consider as to why invo=
lving=20
the U.S. in yet another war, this one in Colombia, is a bad idea. In the =
midst=20
of a War on Terror, the U.S. can little afford, in terms of either money,=
=20
military aid, or troop strength, to get involved in yet another war. Colo=
mbia=20
has nothing to do with the war on terror -- militarily.
But it does have something to do with swaying hearts and minds in the Mus=
lim=20
world. Every time that the U.S. is caught acting like a bully in the worl=
d,=20
especially among the world's poorest, that fact is noted by Muslims from =
Morocco to the Philippines.. In order to shift the catastrophic momentum =
in=20
Iraq, the U.S. must first convince the Iraq people -- and the rest of the=
=20
Muslim world -- that the U.S. is sincere in its protestations that it is =
a=20
force for justice and good. That's a hard case to make if Congress is coz=
ying=20
up to paramilitary thugs in Colombia.
This vote also presents a rare chance for constituents to contact members=
of=20
Congress and urge a stop to the Pentagon's war by prosy. Call your=20
Representative at 202-224-3121 and urge them to support any amendments to=
the=20
FY2006 Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill that cut military aid to=20
Colombia and continue to support additional humanitarian assistance and a=
=20
negotiated path toward peace.
The Colombian military does not either deserve or merit U.S. military sup=
port.=20
It's time to stop our blind allegiance to war as a way to solve political=
=20
problems, particularly in countries where we have an interest in promotin=
g=20
democracy -- not more needless bloodshed. Say no to Plan Colombia. This w=
eek=20
is your chance.
(c) Working Assets Online. All rights reserved.
URL: http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?ItemID=3D19251
GOD'S CREATOR
...That was my only sin... :(
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wise men explore the unknown seeking more wisdom, while other
men fall on their hands and knees and start mumbling...
Todays U.S. Holy Wars News:
http://www.antiwar.com
.
|
