Speech by Sen. Norm Coleman (R- Minnesota), June 23, 2004
Mr. COLEMAN. Mr. President, I rise in strong opposition to the amendment offered by the esteemed and greatly respected Senator from West Virginia concerning military and civilian personnel strength in Colombia.

I have been to Colombia, I have been to Bogota, and I have had a chance to personally visit with some of our troops that are doing training, and to visit with President Uribe on a number of occasions.

As chairman of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, I believe the situation in Colombia is of paramount importance to the entire region. I must state very clearly this is not a civil war in Colombia. Colombia is not engaged in a civil war. Colombia, today, is engaged in a fight against narcoterrorists. That is what this is about. It is not about ideology anymore. It is about money. It is about drugs that are being used to fuel the insurgency. But this is not a civil war. I think that is important to understand.

For anyone familiar with the situation in Colombia, it is clear President Uribe is bringing security, stability, and law and order to a country that so desperately needs it. Plan Colombia is a Colombian strategy to retake the country from the grip of narcoterrorists. United States support for Plan Colombia is predicated on a mutual understanding of what is at stake in Colombia, and a belief that the United States and Colombians can work together to address the crisis. We have a critical window of opportunity here to make a major push against narco-terrorists in our own hemisphere

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during these final 20 months of President Uribe's term.
When President Uribe was elected and sworn in, there were mortar attacks on his life. I think there have been about 10 to 15 attempts on his life. He is an extraordinarily brave individual. So often we look around the world and say: America will be there to support you, but you have stand up for yourselves. Colombians are standing up. They are saying they want to win this battle against narcoterrorism.

Ninety percent of the cocaine in this country comes from Colombia. We Americans--our kids, our families--have a stake in the success of what happens in Colombia. Again, this is the time. This is the place to send a strong signal that we will strengthen our efforts against narcoterrorism.

The risk is the risk of doing nothing, the risk of sending a signal that somehow we are going to cap this and limit our effort, that somehow this battle against narcoterrorism is a short-term, we-are-in-it-this-week and we-are-out-next-week approach. This is not about that. Again, we are not talking about a civil war. We are talking about working hand in hand with a government that is deeply committed, that has put its own troops on the frontline, that personally has made the commitment not just of fighting narcoterrorism but to economic reform, pension reform, a commitment to human rights, to the rule of law.

The right thing to do is to support the Armed Services Committee recommendation. The right thing to do is to reject the amendment of the distinguished Senator from West Virginia.

I yield the floor.

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