Columbia: Another Vietnam Or An Opportunity?

One problem facing U.S. policy makers is the fact that Columbia is not the major power in South America. A press release by the Council on Foreign Relations, a co-sponsor of a Blue Ribbon Task Force on foreign policy, suggests that the U.S. policy should focus more on Brazil than the troubled state of Columbia. This may force Brazil to take a lead role in the region and relieve pressure on U.S. involvement. Brazil has a vested interest in solving these problems as well. The problems in Columbia could easily cross into Brazil and quickly destabilize that country too.

When Mr. Pastrana was taking office in 1998 he proposed a different approach. It is one known as crop substitution. This is where money is given to make a transition from drug production to other crops easy and profitable. This sounds like a great idea but will be difficult to accomplish given the will of the drug dealers and their seemingly unlimited resources.

But how is any plan to help Columbia going to play domestically? Many fear a subtitle slide into another Vietnam like circumstance and are not willing to bear the burden of a Marshall Plan for South America.

The best way to do so will be to link the security of Columbia and the region at large to trade. The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) is a concept and policy long overdue and the only way such a free trade agreement in the hemisphere would work is if all nations are up to the task. Columbia isn’t yet-but desperately needs the trade and investment that such a deal would bring.

The Bush administration has started with its support to the renewal of the Andean Trade Preference Act of 1991 due to expire in 2002. This eliminates some 6,000 US tariffs on products from the Andean region of South America.

This is a good place to start. The U.S. must actively engage places like Columbia if international norms such as free trade and security are to spread throughout the Latin American region.

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