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Colombia to approach Europe for antidrug help

Colombia wants Europe to commit more money and resources to help it fight drug trafficking and a related guerrilla insurgency, at a time when the US Congress is threatening to cut off aid to the Latin American country.

“I would like more commitment from Europe – more judicial agreements, intelligence sharing, police collaboration, training,” Juan Manuel Santos, Colombia’s defence minister, told the Financial Times.

Read the full story here: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/4e642c8a-fd9d-11db-8d62-000b5df10621,dwp_uuid=8fa2c9cc-2f77-11da-8b51-00000e2511c8.html

By Patrick on May 10, 2007, 13:29 in Politics & the war.

scotty says on May 10, 2007, 16:52:

good the US is tired of paying all the bills all the time.

Get Rhythm, when you got the blues. Johnny Cash

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Dolfi says on May 11, 2007, 00:55:

But you will keep on paying the cocaine bills, won´t you?

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aztec says on May 11, 2007, 04:56:

But you will keep on paying the cocaine bills, won´t you? My wife and I got into an unpleasant discussion with a person last night about Colombia's role in cocaine use in the USA. It was his opinion that Colombia was and is the problem we have in the USA with drugs.

This ignorance has only happened in our presence twice in the last ten years. Usually from someone not very sophisticated or drunk. Both of which was in evidence in this case.

Seems that some people cannot conceive of the idea that North America (ie. the USA) and Europe are somehow largely responsible for the problem the world has with the availability of cocaine. If for example, we who live in the US would stop snorting the stuff then people in Colombia might have a better chance of controlling the production and distribution. There is both a supple and demand problem that we all need to work together in solving.

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juancegomez says on May 11, 2007, 16:05:

Rather than blaming countries though... We should recognize that it's a problem of supply and demand in its simplest form.

Nuke Colombia, and the demand will not cease to exist. The supply will simply move to greener pastures.

If the flawed nature of Prohibition isn't addressed, or if current policies aren't changed to something at least somewhat more reasonable and realistic, it doesn't matter who "pays the bills" at all, since we'll be forever trapped in the same cycle.

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goin_south says on May 12, 2007, 02:19:

Nuke Colombia? I understand your thought, juancegomez.
And, it gets me to thinking... only wondering...if suddenly there was no cocaine supply, from anywhere. How long would it take to get crops matured elsewhere, and what social implications it would likely have for the interim, in North America and Europe.

I know; it's a hypothetical that will never happen. But, nevertheless, fun to juxtapose. (Not nuking Colombia; only 'if there were suddenly, no cocaine supply, for a period of two to three years.)

“ I would rather be a conservative nut job rather than a liberal with no nuts and no job.”

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