US war on terror zeros in on Colombian 'second front'

The US has said that it is to open a "second front" in the war on terror by increasing its assistance to the Colombia in a bid to defeat the country's narcoterrorists.

Joint Chiefs Chairman Air Force Gen Richard Myers travelled to the Colombia on August 11 in an effort to forge greater security links.

Following the visit, the US embassy in Bogota said that the Colombians have said that "enough is enough", and would be adopting tactics used by the US.

US officials said that narcoterrorists "cultivate, process and ship most of the cocaine in the world and are growing opium poppies and refining it to heroin".

The official added: "Colombia is in the Western Hemisphere, mere hours away from the US border. The narcoterrorists already have a smuggling pipeline into the US, and it is no stretch to imagine other terror groups allying themselves with the narcoterrorists."

The Colombian's have said that there is now "no difference between a drug trafficker and a terrorist". The three main rebel groups - the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the National Liberation Army (ELN) and the United Self-defense Groups of Colombia (AUC) – use drug money to finance their operations and buy weapons and supplies. These groups have hundreds of millions of dollars to finance operations against the government, say the Colombians.

US Special Forces personnel have trained 15 regular Colombian battalions and one specialized battalion. The troops, outfitted with US equipment and using US tactics, are "having successes" against the rebels, the Colombian's have claimed.

Colombian forces captured 5,784 rebels from August 2002 to May 2003, compared with 2,790 during the previous period.

American troop levels in the region will "remain constant" and as army training becomes more routine, US trainers may shift to other areas. Officials said the US will help Colombia with the planning process, intelligence exploitation, and reconnaissance and surveillance.

(gmcg)