>X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Unverified) > >from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >subject: Colombia. US Corpns' politicians. Covert war on Indians >(JC..US continues to import Colombian drugs for resale; refuses offer >of aid (fast US interceptor boats) from Cuba to stop sea-drop bundles >pick-up by Miami mafia -the defacto US government. The real target is >as usual -killing the indigenous peasants, annexing their lands and >OIL and installing US controlled governments, laws, torture rooms >-the catalysts for the Cuban Revolutions) > > >sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Date sent: Thu, 24 Feb 2000 >Law News Network >Big Guns Back Aid To Colombia >Well-financed U.S. lobby seeks relief from drug wars > >Sam Loewenberg Legal Times February 23, 2000 > >Nothing in Washington ever happens in a vacuum. And the Clinton >administration's recent proposal to give Colombia $1.3 billion in >aid to help combat drug trafficking is no exception. > >For almost a year, a business consortium of blue-chip multi- >nationals has been pressing the White House and Capitol Hill for >such a package. The assistance, the companies say, is needed to >help the war-torn Latin American country beat back a growing >illegal drug trade that is making it difficult to do business. > >Through the U.S.-Colombia Business Partnership -- founded in 1996 >to represent U.S. companies with interests in Colombia -- the >Occidental Petroleum Corp., the Enron Corp., BP Amoco, the >Colgate-Palmolive Co., and others played an important part in >pressing the administration and Congress for the aid. The business >partnership is now actively pushing the Clinton initiative. > >"Right now, you see a confluence of interests," says Lawrence >Meriage, Occidental's vice president for public affairs and the >company's point man on Colombia. "The members [of Congress] >expressed concern about drugs, and from our perspective here, they >are certainly disruptive of any normal business relationship." > >Occidental, which claims that a company oil project in Colombia >has lost $100 million since 1995 because of terrorist activity, >formally made its case last week. Meriage testified before the >House Government Reform Subcommittee on Drug Policy. The hearing >also featured White House drug czar Gen. Barry McCaffrey, the head >of the U.S. Southern Command, three high-ranking administration >officials, and two former ambassadors -- all of whom testified in >favor of the aid. > >Occidental, which is taking the lead, and the other members of the >consortium "are really appreciative of what we are doing in >getting rid of the narco-traffickers," says McCaffrey spokesman >Robert Weiner. "It is going to mean that all of their businesses >are going to flourish." > >Other U.S. companies will also see a jump in their bottom line if >the aid package goes through. > >Of the $1.3 billion package, the largest chunk is earmarked for >helicopter purchases. The United States would buy 30 Black Hawks, >at a total cost of more than $360 million, from the Sikorsky >Aircraft Corp., a subsidiary of the United Technologies Corp. In >addition, Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. stands to earn about $66 >million from the sale of 33 Hueys. > >The size of the aid package -- and the emphasis on military >equipment -- is raising concerns among human rights advocates. > >>From their perspective, the aid plan is misguided. Instead of >pulling up stakes and setting up business elsewhere, they note, >members of the business partnership are pushing the U.S. >government to stem the violence that is making it difficult for >their businesses to thrive in the region. That type of >involvement, human rights advocates claim, will ensnare the United >States in the bloody Colombian civil war that has raged 40 years. > >"There is increasingly multinational investment in very conflicted >areas where there is heavy paramilitary violence and evidence that >it is supported by the Colombian military," says Winifred Tate, a >Colombia expert in the Washington Office of Latin America, a >liberal interest group that advocates for human rights in Latin >America. > >Some conservatives who support the aid package have different >concerns. They question why the administration has stocked the >package with so many of the costly Black Hawks, which cost seven >times more than Bell Helicopter's Hueys. > >Sikorsky, based in Stratford, Conn., is in the district of Rep. >Sam Gejdenson, the ranking member of the House International >Relations Committee. Connecticut is also home to Sen. Christopher >Dodd, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations >Subcommittee on Narcotics. > >Some of these Republicans wonder whether the administration chose >Sikorsky's Black Hawks, in part, to gain the support of the >company's powerful home-state Democrats -- politicians who have >traditionally opposed such military-type aide to foreign >countries. > >Former Rep. Gerald Solomon (R-N.Y.), who is pitching in to help >his old colleagues lobby to pass the plan, says gaining the >support of Dodd and Gejdenson was "absolutely crucial." While he >feels that the two Democrats genuinely believe in the anti-drug >plan, Solomon says that appealing to a member's home state >loyalties is a common tactic. > >"Let's face it, any time you are dealing with an issue like this, >and you are talking about hardware and jobs in your district, it >makes a difference certainly," he says. "Sure they are trying to >give them more incentive to make them a stronger supporter. It's >all part of the game." > >Sikorsky's parent company, United Technologies, has given >significantly to both members. Since 1997, Gejdenson has received >$19,000 and Dodd has taken in $33,200 from the company, according >to the Center for Responsive Politics. > >Spokesmen for Dodd and Gejdenson, who opposed military >intervention in Latin America during the 1980s, said that neither >member was influenced by the selection of a home-state company. > >"It is absurd that you can't be supportive of human rights and a >peace process and at the same time acknowledge that this is a >serious narcotic problem that requires us to give adequate >equipment and training to the Colombian police and military who >have to fight drug traffickers day after day," says Dodd spokesman >Marvin Fast. > >Gejdenson's spokesman echoed that sentiment. > >RINGING THE BELL > >Bell Helicopter, based in Fort Worth, Texas, claims its own >powerful allies on the Hill. > >"The entire Texas Delegation is working this issue," says a >company spokesperson, who declined to be identified. > >That includes Rep. Martin Frost, chairman of the Democratic >Congressional Campaign Committee, and Republican House members >Dick Armey, the majority leader, and Whip Tom DeLay. > >The company also has an outside lobbyist with good Latin American >credentials -- Tony Gillespie, former U.S. ambassador to Colombia, >Chile, and Grenada. > >Although the two helicopter manufacturers are both working to get >the aid package approved, their interests are not completely >synchronized. Sikorsky and Bell Helicopter have been waging >separate lobbying campaigns in an attempt to increase their share >of the pie. > >The sale of 30 or more Black Hawks would be a boon to Sikorsky, >which has orders for only six helicopters from the U.S. Army this >year, down from 19 last year, according to defense industry expert >Bill Hartung of the World Policy Institute, a New York think tank >affiliated with New School University. > >The company's luck took a fortuitous turn late last year, after >Sen. Dodd traveled to Colombia to meet with that nation's >officials to discuss the administration's aid proposal. > >A Dodd spokeswoman says the senator discussed the aid package with >the officials, but did not discuss helicopter purchases >specifically. After Dodd left, the Colombians announced they would >buy six Black Hawks on their own. > The streak continued when the Colombian government received >support in the form of financing for the helicopters from the U.S. >Export-Import Bank, an Ex-Im spokesperson said. > >The Ex-Im Bank is prohibited by its charter from lending for >military purchases. But the bank was given a special exemption by >the State Department, the spokesperson said. > >And recently, Sikorsky got some valuable, free advertising from an >unusual source: > >Drug czar McCaffrey opposed giving Black Hawks to Colombia in 1998 >-- he says he thought the United States had not committed to >providing enough of the machines to benefit the country. But he >now seems like one of the helicopter's biggest fans. > >"These are the best helicopters in the world. The next time you >see me, I'll probably be peddling them, I hope," McCaffrey cracked >at the hearing last week before the House Subcommittee on >Narcotics. McCaffrey's spokesman later emphasized that the general >was kidding and had no plans to work for Sikorsky. > >For Occidental, the military aid comes at a crucial time, >following massive disruption from attacks on its facilities. The >company already pays the Colombian government to keep an army base >next to its refinery to protect against attacks. But, Meriage >says, the Colombian government itself needs help. >"We could not survive in these remote areas without the protection >of the Colombian military," Meriage, the Occidental vice >president, says. Meriage equates the guerrillas to the drug- >traffickers -- "the two are inseparable now," he says -- as does >the U.S. government's plan. > >TRIBAL TRAUMA > >While Occidental has its problems with the guerrillas, an >indigenous tribe in Colombia has its problems with the oil >company. Members of the U'Wa say that the company wants to drill >oil -- which they consider sacred -- on their land. They threaten >to commit mass suicide if the company goes through with its plan. >Three U'Wa children reportedly drowned earlier this month during a >demonstration trying to block the drilling, according to Amazon >Watch, a human rights group. > >Some human rights activists, including the Amazon Coalition, >criticize Vice President Al Gore Jr. for not backing the tribe and >suggest that his longtime ties to Occidental may be coloring his >views of the situation. > >"Occidental is the political patron of Al Gore," says Steve >Kretzmann, a San Francisco-based member of the U'Wa Defense >Working Group, a human rights group lobbying Congress on the >tribe's behalf. > >According to the D.C.-based Center for Public Integrity, Gore's >father, the late Sen. Albert Gore Sr., was a member of >Occidental's board and the company has paid the vice president's >family $20,000 a year since the 1960s for unused mineral rights on >his land. Occidental, the center reports, has also contributed >hundreds of thousands to Gore and the Democratic National >Committee. > >Gore did not respond to two telephone calls seeking comment. > >Drug policy and human rights questions aside, the bottom line for >most of the businesses pushing for the aid package is their own >bottom line. "It's business for us, and we are as aggressive as >anybody," said one Bell Helicopter lobbyist. "I'm just trying to >sell helicopters." > >Copyright (c)N 2000 NLP IP Company -- American Lawyer Media. > All rights reserved. >(Relayed to VVAW-Net by Ben Chitty USN 65-9 VN 66-7 68 NY/VVAW >mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] - http://www.prairienet.org/vvaw)" JC > > > __________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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