So Much For The War On Drugs, eh?

America's shitty Drug Plan finally Collapses - [War on Drugs]
The Independent

Washington's 'war on drugs' in Colombia is collapsing in chaos and corruption, while drug producers remain the winners. 'Plan Colombia', which has cost the US [losers] more than 3 billion dollars in the past 5 years, is being abandoned, Condoleezza Rice has announced.

Last year, the hugely expensive effort to poison coca bushes - whose leaves are the source of cocaine - by aerial spraying ended in complete failure. More bushes were flourishing in January this year than in January 2004. Meanwhile, complaints have been multiplying regarding the damage done by chemical poisons to the health of humans, especially children, as well as to livestock, fish and the environment. Plan Colombia was designed to eradicate narcotics, control powerful left-wing guerrillas and strengthen the position of the US military in South America. The scheme was eventually expected to cost $7.5bn.

The government of Colombia, the world's principal source of cocaine, has sent out an emergency appeal to the Bush administration for an extra $130m to supplement the $600m it already expects to receive in 2006. Kiss your tax dollars goodbye, Americans. Bush fucked up, once again.

No wonder the CIA has smuggled cocaine in the past - how could they afford not to?

Colombia's appeal for more cash comes in the wake of the details quietly put out by the White House during the Easter holiday about last year's spraying debacle. On January 1st, 2004, US satellite pictures showed 281,323 acres of coca in Colombia. Nearly 340,000 acres were sprayed with poison, in vain. The acreage of coca bushes has since increased and will probably continue to do so.

Consequently, as Congressman Bob Menendez, leader of the Democratic caucus in the US lower house and a critic of Plan Colombia, remarked last week, the international price of cocaine has refused to rise - as it would have if the anti-drug efforts had dented its availability.

Drug profits have corrupted some US troops stationed in Colombia. This month a US Green Beret lieutenant-colonel and a sergeant were caught selling 32,900 rounds of ammunition to the right-wing death squads who are flush with drug profits. In March, five US soldiers were arrested after 16 kilos of cocaine were found in the aircraft taking them from a military base in southern Colombia back to the US.

I'm surprised the US hasn't gone after Colombia's oil yet.