US War of Terror in Colombia - October 28, 2004
by Dan Kovalik
During the current election campaign, there is much discussion of the U.S.'s "war on terror." While this discussion focuses almost entirely upon the Middle East, Iraq and Al-Quaida, there is almost no mention of the U.S.'s current war in Colombia, a war in which the U.S. is actually supporting military forces which are terrorizing the population. Indeed, the U.S. Congress, over the objection of numerous human rights organizations, has recently deepened the U.S.'s role in Colombia by voting to double the U.S. troop level in Colombia from 400 to 800. This troop involvement is in addition to the over $3.5 billion the U.S. has already spent on the Colombian military since 2000, making Colombia the third largest recipient of U.S. military aid in the world.
I just returned from Saravena, Colombia, a small town located in the significant oil region of the Arauca Department and a town in which a large proportion of the U.S. troops in Colombia are housed. The U.S. troops live in the confines of Colombia's 18th Army Brigade and train this Brigade in what they term "anti-terror" techniques and in how to protect the oil pipelines of Occidental Petroleum, a U.S. company also located in the Department of Arauca. Indeed, the U.S. just recently appropriated $99 million to equip the 18th Brigade for the express purpose of protecting these pipelines.
To read the rest of the article, click here.