DRUG WAR IN COLOMBIA - Time to Cut and Run?

Concerning the drug war in Colombia , the Los Angeles Times reported on (Sept. 29 that the United Nations has determined that “five years of effort and $4.7 billion had not put much of a dent in overall coca-leaf cultivation.” It also noted that in May “[Colombian] army units allegedly did the bidding of narco-traffickers” in killing 10 US-trained anti-narcotics police and an informant, and that three months later other army units were accused of carrying out six “drug-gang killings.”

And yet, it’s predicted that Congress will maintain business as usual, with an even higher appropriation than the $728 million spent on the Colombian drug war in the current fiscal year. At this stage, wouldn’t it be reasonable to consider an alternative? Specifically - to coin a phrase – to “cut and run”?