Colombia has been engaged in a decades-long war against insurgents and drug gangs that at times threatened to carve out parts of the country for the enemy and destabilize the urban areas the government officially controlled. We have helped them reach the point where the government is beating down the insurgents and Colombia is regaining some normalcy.
While we had a public aid effort, we also had a secret effort to supply intelligence and smart bomb kits to Colombia:
The 50-year-old Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), once considered the best-funded insurgency in the world, is at its smallest and most vulnerable state in decades, due in part to a CIA covert action program that has helped Colombian forces kill at least two dozen rebel leaders, according to interviews with more than 30 former and current U.S. and Colombian officials.
The secret assistance, which also includes substantial eavesdropping help from the National Security Agency, is funded through a multibillion-dollar black budget. It is not a part of the public $9 billion package of mostly U.S. military aid called Plan Colombia, which began in 2000.
The previously undisclosed CIA program was authorized by President George W. Bush in the early 2000s and has continued under President Obama, according to U.S. military, intelligence and diplomatic officials.
These new capabilities were certainly important. But don't underestimate the Colombian decision to finally, after decades of trying to win on the cheap, expand, train, and equip their ground forces to take on FARC and ELN.
We also agreed to try their drug criminals here to avoid stressing the Colombian justice system by exposing it to insurgent violence, blackmail, and bribery.
Kudos for not giving up on Colombia--or abandoning the assistance just because George W. Bush got it rolling.
Just when I think our administration is incapable of doing anything to advance our interests, they go and surprise me.
UPDATE: I was puzzled that intelligence and smart bombs would be something we'd keep secret. But then I forgot that some in Congress have a weakness for the South American communist revolutionaries and would have done what they could to lose that war despite Congressional approval of aid to beat the insurgents. I guess I'm surprised the administration didn't have more of those to screw it up, anyway.
