Does US funding for Colombia represent a 'true partnership'?
Tuesday, 16 November 2010 08:52
Teresa Welsh
Both the United States and Colombia have expressed the desire for the two nations to develop a "true partnership." They say the relationship will become more than just a fight against drugs and terrorism through Plan Colombia. They say the two nations will work together to promote action on the environment, scientific knowledge transfer, and increased support for social projects. The 2011 Fiscal Year foreign aid budget, however, suggests something else.
The U.S. Foreign Aid budget for Colombia for the fiscal year of 2011 is $464 million, a figure down $56 million from last year. The decrease supposedly marks a shift from heavily military-based aid to a plan including more social aid, rhetoric that has been repeated by the U.S. but the concrete effects of which remain to be seen. The U.S. says the country wants to direct more energy towards social support, but examination of the 2011 budget shows otherwise. All of the budget areas where Colombia is specifically mentioned refer to narcotics enforcement, terrorism, or military training.
The U.S. budget for the Department of State was submitted by Secretary of State Hilary Clinton on February 1, 2010. The budget summarizes all foreign aid requests, which includes money to fund all state programs overseas (diplomatic and consular functions), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), international organizations, and all foreign operations.
According to the budget, the largest appropriation made for Colombia in the coming year is the $204 million that will go towards International Narcotics Control and Enforcement. These funds are meant "to support country and global programs critical to combating transnational crime and illicit threats, including efforts against terrorist networks in the illegal drug trade and illicit enterprises." The budget says that these funds are replacing those previously allotted to the Andean Counterdrug Initiative, a program started by President George W. Bush that included funds to fight drug production in Colombia as well as Bolivia and Peru. This money "will reduce the flow of drugs to the United States; address instability in the Andean region; and strengthen the ability of both source and transit countries to investigate and prosecute major drug trafficking organizations and their leaders, and to block and seize the organizations’ assets," the budget says.
More:
http://colombiareports.com/opinion/157-guests/12741-does-us-funding-for-colombia-represent-a-qtrue-partnershipq.html