Colombia Seeks to Reduce Dependence on U.S. Aid Within 2 Years

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Colombia Seeks to Reduce Dependence on U.S. Aid Within 2 Years

Feb. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Colombia Foreign Minister Carolina Barco said her country plans to start easing its dependence on U.S. aid in about two years as the economy grows enough to fund the fight against drug-funded terrorism on its own.

``What we are trying to do is become absolutely self sufficient,'' Barco, 53, said in an interview at her office in Bogota. ``We do not want to become dependent on their support. But to reach the level of strength and control, we need them to stay the course with us a while longer,'' she said.

Under a $7.5 billion security and drug-eradication program known as Plan Colombia, the country is the third-largest recipient of U.S. aid, behind Israel and Egypt. U.S. President George W. Bush this month asked Congress for $700 million in 2006 to help Colombia fight drug-funded guerrillas and paramilitaries.

Improved security will boost investor confidence and lead to an annual growth rate of 6 percent within two years from about 3.8 percent last year, Barco said. That pace of growth will attract more foreign investment to the $91 billion economy, allowing the government to begin reducing its dependence on U.S. aid, she said.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000086&sid=aOf0r7CCbXQg&refer=latin_america

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The 2005 aid package and the 2004 "troop cap" debate

Follow the links for information about each bill's contents, and about the debates in Congress:

2005 aid request: On February 6, 2004, the Bush administration submitted to Congress its budget request for 2005, maintaining previous levels of aid to the Andean region, especially Colombia.

Raising the "troop cap": The law currently restricts the presence of U.S. presence in Colombia to 400 military personnel and 400 contractors. Congress is considering a Bush administration request to increase the "troop cap" to 800 and the contractor limit to 600.

http://www.ciponline.org/colombia/aid05.htm

Bush anymore.

Chávez's talent at realpolitik was evident most recently in his successful patching-up of the diplomatic fracas that erupted with the conservative pro-Washington government of Álvaro Uribe in neighboring Colombia. Rodrigo Granda, a leader of the leftist Colombian rebel FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia) who was quietly living in Caracas, was captured by Venezuelan bounty hunters in broad daylight last December and was subsequently handed over to Colombian police on the other side of the border by the well paid renegades. Accusing the United States of provoking the crisis, Chávez withdrew his ambassador from Bogotá and halted bilateral trade between the two countries, which normally amounts to almost two billion dollars annually.

Having sent an unmistakable signal to the Bush administration that further interference in South American regional relations, such as the clumsy intrusion of the U.S. ambassador to Colombia, William Wood, in strong support of Uribe against Chávez, will not be tolerated--Chávez agreed to meet with the Colombian president in order to discreetly end the standoff before any damaging economic repercussions could set in. While he aggressively confronted Bogotá--viewed throughout Latin America, along with El Salvador and Chile, as one of Washington's most faithful bootlickers--demonstrated that the Venezuelan leader is capable of responsibly managing what has to be considered his most important bilateral relationship. It also showed that ultimately Uribe was not prepared to sacrifice his all important bilateral ties with his neighbors just to be used as a stalking horse against Venezuela. Ultimately, Chávez may attempt to position himself as a bridge between Uribe, who remains relatively isolated in South America despite (or perhaps because of ) his close relationship with the Bush administration, and the center-left Mercosur governments, thus further broadening a South American coalition that Chávez envisages as part of his hemispheric legacy.

http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/articles.php?artno=1376

Being a stooge for the Shrubites is a losing proposition for Uribe.

I really don't agree with the whole "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" or "The friend of my enemy is my enemy" ideas though.

I expect Uribe got it from both sides, actually, plenty of it.
What is interesting is which way he went, after being "sick" for
a couple weeks.

Colombia is our last strong-hold ...

as he is Uncle Sam's premier lapdog of the region. He's meeting in March with Lula and Chavez regarding areas of common interest between the three nations and to revise three-way agreements in energy, petroleum, and coal along the creation of the business “Carbosurámerica” (South American Coal). The Bushistas can't be too happy about that ;-)


Venezuelan President Chavez and Colombian President Uribe held a joint press conference in Caracas.
Credit: VTV

I've NEVER seen a photo of him looking that serious. Excellent. It was said he suddenly got sick, as mentioned earlier, which was probably a much needed "time out."

It's SO COOL seeing him look so grim and weak. He has been far cockier than necessary during his fling with _Bush.

when the reports were that he had food poisoning. Later reports said ear infection--whatever was the matter with him Cuba supplied the medicine to get him back on his feet.

http://narconews.com/Issue35/article1182.html

Intentionally making unpayable loans to foreign
governments may seem the work of fools, but the money
flowed directly into the bottom lines of well-connected
U.S. construction and energy companies like Bechtel
and Halliburton, and the perpetual debts gave the
U.S. government a stranglehold over the economic and
political resources of the indebted nations. The ruling classes
of the debtor nations who benefited rarely objected; the
people the projects displaced had no
voice.

Selling bogus projections was specialized work that required
the social skills of a con man and the ethics of a hired killer.
By Perkins’ account, recruiters from the National Security
Agency (NSA), one of the U.S. intelligence services, decided
he fit the bill.


Of particular interest is Perkins’ story of his role in the deal
that tied Saudi Arabia to U.S. interests, created a financial
and political alliance between the House of Saud and the
House of Bush, and led to a partnership that channeled
billions of dollars to Osama bin Laden. Under this
agreement, the Saudis hold their oil earnings in U.S.
Treasury bonds. The Treasury Department pays the interest
on these bonds directly to favored U.S. corporations, with
which it contracts to modernize Saudi Arabia’s
physical infrastructure. In return the U.S. government uses
its political and military clout to keep the Saudi royal family
in power

http://www.wanttoknow.info/economichitman