But by ignoring some of the integral humanitarian issues and instead focusing on violent, lethal means to a successful defeat of the guerillas and paramilitary groups, the U.S. demonstrates its complete neglect of human need. Even though children are tortured, 300,000 people are forced from their homes per year and there are an average of 10 political killings a day, the U.S. administration does not view the Colombian situation as a humanitarian crisis. To the U.S., the only statistic that matters is that 90 percent of cocaine in the U.S. comes from Colombia. Drugs are the name of the game; human need is a moot point.

The revolutionary groups in Colombia deny actual participation in the drug trade; rather, they insist on collecting "taxes" from the drug lords in pursuit of a greater goal: to fight and overthrow the government, eventually winning a redistribution of wealth among the country. These so-called taxes are not only collected from the narcotics handlers, but also from some of the wealthier Colombian citizens in the form of ransom. By kidnapping a child or relative from a prominent clan, the guerillas can negotiate huge funds in return. However, these intricate problems do not appear to be taken into account by the U.S. plan.

By attacking the actual level of production of the coca crops, the U.S. believes that the problem of narco-trafficking will be alleviated. Their gift of arms and money to the Colombian government will certainly fuel the violence among the many insurgent groups and the official Colombian army. By training Colombian troops to fight guerrillas in a mountainous, desolate region, unfamiliar to most officials, anger and violence will simply heighten to the point of crisis. The losers in this situation are neither the U.S., the Colombian military or the guerillas; the helpless people, simply praying to survive in a land ripped apart by fury and injustice.

Sitting in the Peruvian airport, listening to the avid beliefs of one, intrepid Colombian woman, I was embarrassed to admit my own nation advocated ruthless military aid as a "solution" to a much more complicated problem of poverty and political beliefs. Rather than attacking the narco-traffickers, drug lords and guerillas, the United States' policy will jeopardize the lives of thousands of already impoverished and entirely innocent people.

Frances G. Tilney '02, a Crimson executive, is a history and literature concentrator in Mather House. She was a researcher/writer in Peru this summer for Let's Go Publications.