Notes from March 23 hearing of the House Armed Services Committee

Notes from March 23 hearing of the House Armed Services Committee

The House Armed Services Commttee: (Members who attended the hearing are in boldface italic) (Based on personal observation -- may contain inaccuracies)
Republicans	Democrats
*Floyd D. Spence, South Carolina, Chairman* Bob Stump, Arizona, Vice-Chairman Duncan Hunter, California John R. Kasich, Ohio *Herbert H. Bateman, Virginia* James V. Hansen, Utah Curt Weldon, Pennsylvania Joel Hefley, Colorado Jim Saxton, New Jersey *Steve Buyer, Indiana* Tillie K. Fowler, Florida John M. McHugh, New York James Talent, Missouri Terry Everett, Alabama *Roscoe G. Bartlett, Maryland* Howard "Buck" McKeon, California J.C. Watts, Jr., Oklahoma Mac Thornberry, Texas John N. Hostettler, Indiana Saxby Chambliss, Georgia Van Hilleary, Tennessee Joe Scarborough, Florida Walter B. Jones, Jr., North Carolina Lindsey O. Graham, South Carolina Jim Ryun, Kansas Bob Riley, Alabama Jim Gibbons, Nevada Mary Bono, California Joseph Pitts, Pennsylvania Robin Hayes, North Carolina Steve Kuykendall, California Donald Sherwood, Pennsylvania	Ike Skelton, Missouri, Ranking Member Norman Sisisky, Virginia John M. Spratt, Jr., South Carolina Solomon P. Ortiz, Texas Owen Pickett, Virginia Lane Evans, Illinois Gene Taylor, Mississippi Neil Abercrombie, Hawaii Martin T. Meehan, Massachusetts Robert A. Underwood, Guam Patrick J. Kennedy, Rhode Island Rod R. Blagojevich, Illinois Silvestre Reyes, Texas Tom Allen, Maine Victor F. Snyder, Arkansas Jim Turner, Texas Adam Smith, Washington Loretta Sanchez, California James H. Maloney, Connecticut Mike McIntyre, North Carolina *Ciro Rodriguez, Texas* Cynthia McKinney, Georgia Ellen Tauscher, California Robert Brady, Pennsylvania Robert E. Andrews, New Jersey Baron P. Hill, Indiana *Mike Thompson, California* John B. Larson, Connecticut

The following notes were taken by CIP Senior Associate Adam Isacson during the House Armed Services Committee's hearing on "U.S. Policy Towards Colombia," held in room 2118 of the Rayburn House Office Building at 9:30 AM on March 23, 2000. These notes may contain inaccuracies.

Note: the Armed Services Committee has now placed a transcript of the hearing on its website. Read it here or on the committee's web site.

Three witnesses offered testimony:

Brian Sheridan, assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict [Statement]
General Charles E. Wilhelm, commander-in-chief, U.S. Southern Command [Statement]
Rand Beers, assistant secretary of state, Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs [Statement]

Committee Chairman Rep. Floyd Spence (R-Columbia, South Carolina) gave an opening statement laying out several questions about the administration's plans in Colombia that he hoped the hearing would answer. [Web (.html) format | Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format]

Spence later asked about protection for U.S. trainers in Colombia. Gen. Wilhelm responded that "force protection is 'job 1,'" giving an example of a U.S. military intelligence advisory unit that cancelled a recent visit to Tres Esquinas, Putumayo because of a possible threat.

Ranking Democrat Ike Skelton (D-Blue Springs, Missouri) said that the hearing was probably the committee's "most important of the year." Reiterating Spence's observation that many questions remain unanswered about the package, Skelton noted that Colombia's war cannot be won militarily. Remarking on force protection risks, Skelton asked what would happen if a hypothetical U.S. sergeant were to be kidnapped by Colombian guerrillas.

Skelton asked the panelists what benchmarks they would employ to measure the aid package's success. Sheridan responded that decreased coca production would be a useful measure. Wilhelm added that the Colombian government has set a goal of a 50% reduction in coca cultivation in six years. Beers added that the U.S. is in the midst of a planning effort to establish more specific benchmarks. These "secondary and tertiary" goals have not been laid out yet, Beers said, and will not be ready until June.

	Rep. Herbert Bateman (R-Newport News, Virginia) asked how many U.S. casualties have been suffered in Colombia so far. Sheridan responded that the only U.S. servicemen killed were the five lost in a plane crash in July 1999. (Several contract personnel have also been killed in crashes and shootdowns of U.S. spray aircraft on coca eradication missions.) Bateman asked how vulnerable to attack the Blackhawks and Hueys being sent to Colombia will be. Gen. Wilhelm indicated that while Colombian guerrillas have so far only used small arms, Southcom has information from several reliable sources indicating that the FARC probably has surface-to-air missiles, including U.S.-made Redeyes and SAM-16s from Eastern Europe. Blackhawk helicopters, Wilhelm added, have anti-missile protection systems.
	Rep. Norman Sisisky (D-Portsmouth, Virginia) asked why the administration's plan is not targeting increased coca cultivation in Northern Colombia. Sheridan responded that coca cultivation is growing fastest in the southern departments of Caquetá and Putumayo. Wilhelm revealed that the administration's proposal is in fact the first part of a six-year plan. The first two years will focus on Caquetá and Putumayo; during the second two years the focus will shift eastward to Meta and Guaviare departments; during the last two years the program will focus northward, particularly on Norte de Santander department.
	Rep. Owen Pickett (D-Virginia Beach, Virginia), a clear supporter of the administration proposal, expressed concern about what might happen if the package is not approved.
	Rep. Solomon Ortiz (D-Corpus Christi, Texas), seconded Pickett's support for the proposal. Ortiz expressed concern, however, about Colombia's will to fight drugs in light of recent defense budget cuts. He added that any effective drug solution must do more to address U.S. demand. Sheridan blamed the Colombian budget cuts on the depressed state of the country's economy.
	Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Gulfport, Mississippi) expressed strong concerns, among them: Colombians' contribution to the effort, given that wealthy Colombians generally do not pay taxes or have children in the military, while an amount almost equal to the proposed aid was recently lost in a bank-embezzling scandal. The role being played by military contractors like Virginia-based DynCorp and Military Professional Resources, Inc. (MPRI). Whether the Defense Department would be able to live with a congressionally mandated "cap" on the number of U.S. troops present in Colombia, which would require a vote of Congress to increase. Gen. Wilhelm responded that Colombia's army is moving from being a conscript force to an all-volunteer force. Sheridan added that the United States is getting involved in Colombia not to bail out its elite, but to fight drugs. Sheridan said that MPRI has been awarded a $3 million contract to conduct a bottom-up review of the Colombian military's operations, force structure and doctrine, something that Southcom would do if it had the manpower. Both Sheridan and Wilhelm said they would support a "troop cap" if properly considered and developed.
	Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Frederick, Maryland), acting as chairman during Spence's temporary absence, "identified" himself with Taylor's remarks.
	Rep. Vic Snyder (D-Little Rock, Arkansas) remarked that there is a "general uneasiness in Congress" about the Colombia package. He then asked about how resources are currently being used. Wilhelm answered that the Defense Department manages about $1 billion for its activities in Latin America: about $500 million for operations and maintenance (feeding and supporting U.S. troops in the area), $350-375 million for counter-drug activities, and the rest for the Southern Command's "regional engagment" efforts.
	Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D-San Antonio, Texas) gave a strongly critical statement, saying that his experience with supply-side anti-drug efforts has left him "cynical." Among the points Rodriguez made: He sees no indication that drug production will not just move elsewhere in response to the administration's new Colombia plan, as long as U.S. demand makes the drug trade profitable. Sheridan had ended his statements by saying that he hopes Congress approves the administration's package "because there is no Plan B." Rodriguez said he hopes there is a plan B and that it should be ready. Wilhelm's statement had included a rebuttal of the Vietnam analogy often used by critics of the Colombia aid. Rodriguez responded that the analogy was appropriate because Vietnam started the same way -- at first, the U.S. presence was just a military training mission.
At this point (11:50 AM), I had to leave for another meeting (I ended up arriving late). When I left, nearly all Republicans had left but a few Democrats still appeared to be awaiting a chance to make statements or ask questions.