Reply #6: Great article! It dismantles the "war on drugs"--then names names on the profiteers

[Peace Patriot]

"Good for DynCorp

"The premise of the policy, that revving up the Colombian military to fight the guerrillas who protect coca plantations will affect the street price of cocaine, has been thoroughly discredited. So we might ask: Who, besides the corrupt Colombian military, has benefited from the $5.5 billion appropriated for Plan Colombia since 2000? The No. 1 beneficiaries in dollars are the U.S. companies that produce Blackhawk gunships and run the program of chemical warfare in Colombia’s coca fields. These include the companies providing the U.S. government with 'services' to aid the Drug War.

"DynCorp Interntational has signed contracts with the State Department for about $150 million annually since 2000 for its operations in Colombia. It also also handles most of the operations at the Manta base. The company’s corporate offices, like those of many of the growing band of mercenary outfits, are located in suburban Virginia, outside Washington. (The company’s headquarters are in Falls Church, which is adjacent to the Congressional district of Representative Frank Wolf, the ranking Republican on the House of Representatives Foreign Operations subcommittee that marks up the hundreds of millions of dollars in funds that Congress approves for DynCorp.) The company in turn has consistently given thousands of dollars to Wolf’s campaign. Such a blatant conflict of interest is another demonstration of Plan Colombia’s corrupt underlying dynamics, which should be cause for a fundamental re-casting of the policy.

"If the 2008 elections yield a Democratic victory, renewing the party’s majority in Congress and winning the presidency, the next administration will get a chance to not only re-examine the premises of failed economic, military and narcotics policies in Latin America, but to re-shape those policies to engage the new majorities emerging throughout the region. Democrats, to be true to democratic values, should undertake such a fundamental shift in policy. But don’t hold your breath. Democrats and Republicans are likely to only react reflexively, unless people in the United States actively press them to do so."

http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/5042

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But I was also very interested in the parts about U.S. military bases, and U.S. militarism, in South America. The article points out that the bombing of Ecuador probably was done from the U.S. base inside Ecuador, at Manta--and likely involved not just U.S. bombs and surveillance, but also U.S. aircraft. Can you imagine how incensed President Rafael Correa must have been (even more than was obvious at the Rio summit)? He doesn't like the base to begin with, and has pledged not to renew its lease when it comes up for renewal in 2009. And then they use that base against his country!

Gee, we're likely to end with no friends at all, anywhere--before our corporate predator politicians are done with all this. Our only friends will be the two U.S. client states, Israel and Colombia--two rightwing governments that wouldn't be in power except for billions in U.S. military aid. Remove that aid--or, in Israel's case, reduce it to defensive levels (disincentive to war profiteers)--and maybe those folks will be able to elect peace-minded governments.

Oh, and don't forget Poland! Is there something the Bushites can do to offend them?

The pervasive rejection of the U.S. military throughout Latin America is also interesting. As are the few bases left--for instance, a radar base in Peru (which borders Ecuador and Bolivia). The Bushites bought the corrupt Peru 'free traders'--probably for more reasons than just having a slave labor pool and rapine rights over Peru's resources and economy. But also to keep that military foot in the door--and to spy on everybody.