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BOGOTA, Colombia -- The United States will continue to stand by Colombia as it battles the forces of terrorism and extremism, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said here in April. “We’re winning,” Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers said during a press conference. “We’ve got to keep the pressure on until the fight is finally won.” Earlier the chairman received the Military Order of Merit from Colombian Defense Minister Jorge Alberto Uribe and the Counternarcotics Award from his counterpart Gen. Carlos Ospina. “I am humbled by this award,” Myers said. He said the awards reflect the relationship between the United States and Colombia and the importance the United States attaches to this relationship. The cooperation between the United States and Colombia must be mirrored around the world, Myers said. The future rests on the ability of nations to cooperate and concentrate against extremists. Narcoterrorist organizations such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, use drugs to finance anti-government attacks. FARC, however, has been significantly degraded, said U.S. officials in Colombia, to the point where “there is no portion of the country where Colombian forces cannot go now.” This was not the case a few short years ago. There were huge swathes of land that FARC dominated. The government could not exercise sovereignty in those places, and the FARC was free to plan further operations and train recruits in these areas. But now the Marxist group cannot use these areas as havens, recruiting grounds or launch points for operations, officials said. It is important for the region’s nations to cooperate. “We need to be partners in this fight (against terror),” Myers said, responding to a reporter’s question on Venezuela, which has considered buying 100,000 AK-47 assault rifles from Russia. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in a March visit to South America had said such a deal would not bode well for the Western Hemisphere. “In this region that all countries need to be fighting the same threat,” Myers said. “You can’t have various countries disturbing the stability in ways that are not helpful. “It’s like Iraq. You can’t have neighbors in Iraq – in this case Syria and Iran – that are not helping stability.” U.S. trainers have helped in part through Plan Colombia – the long-term Colombian plan to combat narcoterrorists, ensure stability and provide a safe and prosperous climate for its citizens. Under Plan Colombia, the United States financed around $700 million worth of programs. The plan ends later this year, but President Bush has already promised to continue U.S. support to Colombia. It has made a difference, the chairman said. “Having been here now three times … it’s been fascinating to watch how the Colombian military has matured and improved its ability to take on the fight it takes on today,” he said. There was never a doubt about the “courage enthusiasm or the loyalty” of the Colombian military, Myers noted. “The help that we’ve been able to provide in terms of training and equipment has enabled them to be even better.” He said that it is important to remember that many miles from Bogota, “Colombian soldiers are fighting in challenging environments to try and provide a secure country. Articles Related to the U.S. and South American Cooperation on Eliminating Narcoterrorism: ** U.S.,
Latin American Cooperation Growing, Says Meyers U.S., Latin American Cooperation Growing, Says Meyers
The military-to-military relationships between the United States and countries of Latin America continue to improve, said the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff following meetings in the region April 10-12.
In all three nations, Myers stressed the need for regional and global cooperation against terrorism. “It’s like computer network defense,” Myers said. “(Hackers) go for the weakest link. If someone can get in through a weak link, then they get everybody. “The same is true with narcoterrorism and terrorism. They want to infiltrate and they will look for the place with the weakest defenses.” The chairman is clearly pleased with the progress in Colombia. “They have been doing well,” Myers said. “(The government has) to stay the course and it’s a tough course. They have troops deployed in the jungle going after the FARC where they live. “When I first came to Colombia in 2001, that was unheard of. Now they are doing it. It is taking a toll, but they have to stay the course, and we have to continue providing the support we have been providing.” Myers said FARC – the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – is the very definition of a narcoterrorist organization. The group started in 1964 as a Marxist-oriented anti-government group. In the intervening years, it turned to drug trafficking as a way to fund the revolution. But it has been years since the group had any ideological underpinning. It now works solely to make certain members rich. And FARC is adaptable. Nations crack down in one area, and that forces the narcoterrorists to move to another means or route to get drugs to “buyer nations.” Narcoterrorists also go to areas where central governments have little or no control. The group has money, and in a region where an average of 55 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, money talks. Those people they cannot intimidate, they buy. “I think the drug money, just by itself, creates instabilities in these governments,” he said. “This is because they have enough money to throw around to turn honest people into corrupt people.” In Ecuador, officials spoke about tightening security on the northern border of the country where it joins with Colombia. FARC has people on both sides of the border, and Ecuadorian officials are afraid that the troubles in Colombia may spill over to them. Already there are thousands of Colombian refugees seeking safety in Ecuador, defense officials said. Ecuador is working to have better relations with Colombia to control the border region, Myers said. In Mexico, Myers met with Gen. Gerardo Clemente Vega, the secretary of national defense. The men discussed a wide range of bilateral issues and regional challenges. The Mexicans understand the regional aspect of the security situation, Myers said. He said he was pleased with the steady progress being made in U.S.-Mexican military-to-military relations, although he said it is “still not where it needs to be.” The current security environment is challenging, the chairman said. Mexico and the United States must work closely together to combat the threats of drugs, terrorism and trafficking in human beings. “We’re making progress,” he said. “I hope we can keep pushing things along.” Geography alone means that U.S. and Mexican security interests converge – both countries want safety and security for their citizens. “And in this day and age, no one can do that alone,” he said. “We’ve got a 2,100-mile long border with Mexico, and we can’t think we can protect that border just on our side. We need their help on their side.” With Mexico, common goals and backgrounds cement the ties with the United States. And both governments understand the transnational threats facing them. “It defines the new security situation we find ourselves in,” Myers said. “We didn’t view it the same way pre-September 11th. Cooperation a Must to Counter Narcoterrorist Threat
QUITO, Ecuador -- At every stop in South America, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has stressed the need for regional and global cooperation in the war on terror. Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers stressed this point again during a meeting with Ecuadorian leaders April 11. Myers met with President Lucio Gutierrez, Defense Minister Nelson Herrera and Chief of Defense Vice Adm. Victor Rosero. He traveled to Quito from Colombia. During a press conference following his meeting with the president, Myers thanked Ecuador for its help in the war on terrorism. He called the nation of 13.6 million people a good ally of the United States. He thanked Ecuador for sending a company of military engineers to Haiti. “They are performing a valuable service in helping rebuild Haiti,” Myers said. U.S. government officials said countering the threat posed by narcoterrorists must be a region-wide effort. While Colombia is the epicenter of the drug trafficking problem, the whole region feels aftershocks. Ecuador shares a border with Colombia. The main terrorist group in Colombia –the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC – uses drug money to sponsor its revolution. In reality, FARC is a simple terror organization that has lost any intellectual underpinnings to its rebellion, officials said. The organization has money and it has bought people on both sides of the Ecuador-Colombia border, U.S. officials said. It is important that both countries work together to make the border area secure. Cooperation is tough for some countries, but embassy personnel use the balloon analogy to show why it is necessary. They point out that if you squeeze a balloon it just bulges out in another place. The way to break a balloon is the squeeze at all points at the same time. If the Colombians are squeezing narcoterrorists in that country, then Brazilians, Peruvians and Ecuadorians must squeeze too, officials noted. It is crucial “because terrorism knows no borders,” Myers said. “Terrorists have no morals. They are a danger to all. |