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U.S. escalates "Plan Colombia" |
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by Eli Stephens left i on the news Entered into the database on Friday, March 24th, 2006 @ 17:41:04 MST |
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The U.S. has been helping Colombia wage war against FARC for many years
with its "Plan Colombia." But now a dangerous escalation is occuring.
Amusingly, just yesterday in the comments someone was criticizing those who
get their "news" from Jon Stewart's Daily Show. Well, perhaps, but
this particular story didn't make it into the paper I read (the San Jose Mercury
News) or any of the TV news shows I watch; if it hadn't been featured on the
Daily Show last night, I wouldn't have known about it. The U.S. has
indicted 50 leaders of FARC for drug trafficking involving smuggling $25
billion (!) worth of cocaine into the United States and other countries. As
a minor matter, I haven't seen the indictments or the evidence, but I find it
hard to believe they actually had enough evidence against, say, #43 to properly
indict him. But minor issues like legality don't stop the United States. Assistant Secretary of State Anne Patterson "stressed that the U.S. will
not take unilateral military action." Yes, just like U.S. troops are in
Iraq at the "invitation" of the Iraqi "government." This
indictment is a very dangerous escalation of U.S. involvement in this war. And,
perhaps coincidentally or perhaps not, we also find this
item in today's "celebrity gossip" (!) section of the paper: Diplomat-in-training Bruce Willis has defused a potential war with Colombia.
The "Armageddon" star recently argued that since Colombia's cocaine
trafficking is as evil as terrorism, we should invade the country. A surprisingly
irked Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Velez called Willis "arrogant"
and "ignorant." "Surprisingly irked"? |
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