You may have missed this item, but the US and Colombia have recently agreed to station more US troops in Columbia. That’s right, I said more. Not only have we been arming the Colombian military for years, a military force with ongoing connections to major drug cartels, but we’ve had forces there for years. Now we intend to increase that deployment and gain access to seven Colombian military bases for the next ten years, ostensibly to employ predator drones to combat “the drug trade and … terrorism.” Some in the region, particularly the governments of Colombia’s neighbors, aren’t so sure that our intentions are honorable:
South American leaders have issued a statement warning “foreign military forces” not to threaten the sovereignty of any of the region’s nations.
The declaration, which was signed by all 12 leaders of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur), came after a lengthy debate on Friday on plans to increase the presence of US troops at bases in Colombia.
The statement “reaffimed that the presence of foreign military forces must not … menace the sovereignty and integrity of a South American country and in consequence regional peace and stability”. […]
The extraordinary meeting the Argentine mountain resort of Bariloche was called after Venezuela, along with Bolivia and Ecuador, complained that the US military could use seven bases in Colombia as launch points to overthrow their governments.
“The US global strategy for domination explains the installation of these bases in Colombia,” Chavez said, holding up a document he said set out the US air force strategy to achieve that aim. […]
Colombia has insisted that the US troops are vital to tackle drug trafficking in the region and pose no threat to its neighbours. […][
But Eva Golinger, a consultant to the Venezuelan government, told Al Jazeera that the US military deployment was not necessary.
“It has been made clear in other US documents this year, particularly one on irregular warfare, about the need not to have permanent troops stationed in any one country but to have this type of mobility which allows for effective non-conventional military operations – so that’s the fear,” she said. […]
Many Latin American nations are wary of US intervention in the region, recalling Washington’s backing of right-wing military governments in the past.
Brazil, Chile and Argentina have demanded binding guarantees be made that the US military assets and personnel in Colombia not be used for any other purpose other than their stated mission of fighting drug-traffickers and Colombian rebels.
So why the sudden need for predator drones and more US troops? Are terrorist attacks in Colombia suddenly on the uptick? Did the drug trafficking problem get significantly worse over the last year? Or are our neighbors in South America right to be concerned about this new development which will give the US military greater access to Colombian military bases? You tell me, but personally I think this is not some garden variety escalation of an existing counter-drug and counter-terrorism program. I think they have good reason to be concerned. And I have to ask why is the Obama administration expanding an existing military intervention in Colombia for which our South American neighbors clearly don’t see any need, and which hasn’t been much of a success in any event?
