-Caveat Lector- The US is considering a "Colombian action," involving Venezuela as well ... Colombia Rebels Infiltrate Panama By GEORGE GEDDA .c The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) - The ranking U.S. commander for Latin America said Tuesday that Colombian guerrillas have been conducting repeated incursions into neighboring Panama, taking advantage of U.S. troop reductions there. Gen. Charles E. Wilhelm, chief of the U.S. Southern Command, said Panama's security forces are not ``manned, trained or equipped'' to deal with the problem. Panama does not have a military and relies on a national police force for security. Under the Panama Canal treaties, the United States is required to remove all its military personnel from the country by the end of the year, a process that is well under way. Wilhelm, testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, said the Colombian insurgents have at times displaced Panamanians from their homes. They also go to Panama to rest, he said. According to reports from the border area, local residents have been frightened by the guerrillas and also worry that rightist paramilitary forces may follow the insurgents into the area. Colombia's civil war has also caused problems along the border with Venezuela, Wilhelm said, noting that hundreds of Colombians fled to safety in Venezuela earlier this month. Reports at the time said the Colombians were fleeing an offensive by paramilitary groups that often collaborate with the Colombian military. The Colombian military has been widely portrayed as ineffective in its efforts to tame the guerrilla movement, but Wilhelm said he is cautiously optimistic that the armed forces eventually will gain the upper hand. He said there are plans to increase the number of combat personnel by 15,000 a year over the next three years. Wilhelm added that, in a little noticed development recently, Colombian military units ``boxed the ears'' of the guerrillas on three occasions by inflicting ``midlevel tactical defeats'' on them. Sen. Paul Coverdell, R-Ga., the subcommittee chairman, offered a less optimistic view of the situation in Colombia, saying that despite a peace initiative by President Andres Pastrana, the guerrillas have ``increased their efforts to undermine peace and stability.'' Coverdell cited estimates that the guerrillas' earn as much as $1.5 billion from the drug trade. ``The result is a well-funded and well-armed guerrilla movement with little incentive to compromise against an underfunded and undermanned Colombian military,'' the senator said. Coverdell said the United States has a habit of ignoring problems until action must be taken. ``We fail to engage in a regular, consistent manner - this has been a foreign policy flaw,'' he said. ``Nowhere is this flaw more evident than in Colombia.'' DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om