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Updated:3/16/02 |
| Letter
to President Bush from Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Missouri), March 15, 2002 March 15, 2002 Dear Mr. President: As you know, I have long been a strong advocate for increasing our military end-strengths and for increasing our military budgets so that our nation can and will live up to its commitments around the world. As Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, I have first-hand awareness of just how overtaxed our military is. This was clear before the events of September 11th, and in the wake of that tragedy our people in uniform and the resources they require are being stretched to the limit. Several high-ranking witnesses have appeared before our committee to give testimony supporting the need for increased service end-strengths. As you know, I support your efforts in the war on terrorism in Afghanistan. I join you in resolving to defeat the Al Qaeda network and eliminate the threats they pose to the United States. This is exactly the kind of mission that our military needs to take on, and they have done so in the highest tradition. I have, however, grave concerns about another military mission that your administration wants to significantly escalate. I am talking about the U.S. military involvement in Colombia. The State Department has notified Congress that it intends to ask for legislation that would (1) grant relief from restrictions that have limited the U.S. activity to a counter narcotics effort only; (2) allow greater intelligence sharing with the Colombian military; and (3) broaden American activities to include training in counter-insurgency and infrastructure protection. To date, financial and military aid to Colombia has not yet stabilized the government of Colombia, helped end the civil war, or reduced narcotics trafficking to the United States. The Colombian civil war has continued for nearly 40 years, and now the peace process has collapsed. Moreover, according to statistics from the Office of National Drug Control Policy issued on March 7th, the cultivation of coca in Colombia has grown to 169,800 hectares, which is a whopping 33,600 hectares more than 2000 levels. This all time high, along with a steadily increasing trend line, shows no signs of abatement despite concerted U.S. military assistance in the form of human resources, training and equipment over the past several years. In this context, the fiscal year 2003 $98 million request to provide helicopters, communication equipment and military training for Colombian troops to guard the oil pipeline from the oil fields in eastern Colombia to the Caribbean ports is particularly troubling. This would be the first time that the United States will have tied its military aid to Colombia directly to the war rather than the counter narcotics effort. In addition, there is little reason to believe that the provision of this aid will be any more effective in redressing Colombia's problems than previous efforts have been. It is true that much of the financing for the proposed activity in Colombia would come from non-defense accounts, but the effect on the military will be draining nonetheless. Also, let me point out two requirements that Colombia must be required to meet before our country embarks upon an expanded military effort there: (1) Colombia must decisively break all links with paramilitaries, and launch a serious effort to combat them as well; (2) Colombia must dramatically increase its own contribution to both the war and peace effort. (By most estimates, the Colombian army would need to at least triple in size in order to take on the FARC effectively, and there are strong reasons to doubt Colombia's commitment, where the law excludes draftees who are high school graduates - meaning all but the poor - from serving in combat units.) Further, your administration has broadly suggested that we may be on the verge of military action against Iraq. While I may agree that some action against Saddam Hussein may be warranted, I am concerned that our military is being over-tasked at this time. Mr. President, as
we look at the geopolitical realities that our country faces, I have to
tell you that I think that further initiatives to broaden our commitment
to a military solution in Colombia come at the wrong time, at the wrong
price and at the expense of our already-stressed military. |
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