EL URIBISMO BARRE
EN COLOMBIA
FUENTE: EL NUEVO HERALD
FECHA: MARZO 13 DE 2006
Por Hernando Álvarez
BBC Mundo, Colombia
El gran ganador de las elecciones legislativas de Colombia fue
sin duda el presidente Álvaro Uribe. Con el 93,79 por ciento
de los votos escrutados, los partidos políticos que lo apoyaron
obtienen más del 60% de las curules del Senado.
La oposición, representada en el tradicional Partido Liberal
y el Polo Democrático Alternativo, se quedó con sólo
el 25,25 por ciento de las curules. En la Cámara Baja se
esperan unos resultados similares.
En la noche del domingo, el mandatario emitió un mensaje
a los colombianos en el que no cantó victoria personal,
pero envió una clara señal a los grupos armados ilegales.
"Hoy ha triunfado la democracia. Eso nos permite hacer un
llamado a los paramilitares para que culmine la desmovilización,
se consolide la paz. Al ELN, para que esas conversaciones preliminares
cuajen, se constituyan en un gran camino hacia la paz", dijo
el presidente colombiano.
"La Farc debería revisar su conducta, sus procedimientos.
Nuestra patria tiene una inagotable vocación democrática.
Llamo a la Farc para que revise su conducta, para que analice la
vocación democrática de los colombianos, para que
considere la posibilidad de un proceso de paz serio y urgente",
concluyó Uribe.
Luz verde
Antes de los comicios, los simpatizantes del presidente Uribe
habían hecho énfasis en que era necesario lograr
la mayoría para que el mandatario tenga luz verde en todas
sus iniciativas en un eventual segundo período, si es que
sale reelegido en las elecciones presidenciales del próximo
28 de mayo, algo que muchos dan por descontado, sobre todo al tener
en cuenta ahora los resultados de los comicios de este fin de semana.
Pero esa luz verde puede llegar a ser más tenue de lo que
muchos se podrían imaginar, ya que es de esperar que los
partidos que apoyaron al presidente Uribe se sientan con la suficiente
fuerza como para separarse de sus ideas cuando lo consideren necesario.
La gran pregunta que se hacen hoy muchos, es si los movimientos
que apoyaron a Uribe se comportarán como una bancada disciplinada
con el mandatario en un eventual segundo período.
"Estos dirigentes uribistas, tanto el Partido Conservador,
como Cambio Radical y el mismo Partido de la U, vienen con una
cuenta de cobro grande burocrática y a exigir muchas cosas",
dijo a BBC Mundo el director de la revista Cambio, Mauricio Vargas.
"En esas bancadas hay diferencias en varios temas, como el
del Tratado de Libre Comercio con Estados Unidos o la reforma tributaria
que Uribe quiere hacer. En fin, esas bancadas van a exigir mucho
porque vienen fortalecidas con los resultados de este domingo".
Otros ganadores
Después de Uribe, el otro ganador es el histórico
Partido Conservador, al que hace diez años muchos analistas
daban por muerto y que, al recoger sus banderas y aliarse con el
presidente Uribe, logró tener la segunda votación
más alta para el senado después del oficialista y
recién creado Partido de la U, sin duda, como Uribe, el
gran triunfador de este fin de semana.
Pero los colombianos no sólo elegían un nuevo congreso
este fin de semana. Los dos principales partidos de oposición
también escogían a su candidato presidencial.
La consulta del histórico Partido Liberal la ganó el
tres veces candidato presidencial Horacio Serpa, aunque no de una
manera tan holgada como lo preveían las encuestas y perdiendo
con su rivales en las principales ciudades del país.
Además, si se tiene en cuenta que en las presidenciales
de 1998 Serpa obtuvo más de 5,5 millones de votos y luego
en el 2002 más de 3 millones, los poco más de 800.000
sufragios que obtuvo en la consulta de este domingo, hacen ver
que su declive es constante.
Por los lados de la izquierda, representada en el Polo Democrático
Alternativo, el gran ganador fue Carlos Gaviria, quien venció con
facilidad a Antonio Navarro, ex líder del extinto grupo
rebelde M-19.
Serpa y Gaviria, se enfrentarán el próximo 28 de
mayo al presidente Álvaro Uribe, quien después de
estos resultados se ve prácticamente imbatible.
El otro candidato presidencial, el ex alcalde de Bogotá,
Antanas Mockus, sufrió por su parte un duro revés
en su aspiración, ya que el movimiento que fundó no
logró obtener ningún escaño en el cuerpo legislativo
y es probable que no pueda inscribir su partido para la contienda
presidencial.
Por otra parte, los resultados de estos comicios también
reflejan la tradicional apatía electoral los colombianos,
ya que de un potencial electoral de 26 millones sólo acudieron
a las urnas poco más del cuarenta por ciento de ellos.
La jornada electoral transcurrió con calma, aunque no estuvo
exenta de algunos hechos violentos.
El gran lunar lo causó un corte en el fluido eléctrico
dos horas antes del cierre de los comicios en varios departamentos
del norte del país, que tuvo su origen en un atentado atribuido
por las autoridades a las rebeldes Fuerzas Revolucionarias de Colombia,
las FARC.
COLOMBIANOS VOTAN POR DEMOCRACIA EN MIAMI
FUENTE: EL NUEVO HERALD
FECHA: MARZO 13 DE 2006
Por CASTO OCANDO
El Nuevo Herald
La democracia de Colombia tuvo ayer una activa jornada de apoyo
en Miami, luego que miles de colombianos se volcaron a las decenas
de mesas de votación para elegir a los representantes y
senadores que integrarán el próximo Congreso 2006-2010,
entre ellos un parlamentario para representar a todos los residentes
en el exterior.
El consulado de Colombia en Miami, ubicado en el corazón
de Coral Gables, fue ayer el centro de operaciones de las actividades
electorales que también se realizaron en varias ciudades
de la Florida, como Kendall, Hialeah, Weston, Plantation, West
Palm Beach, Orlando y Tampa.
La cuadra de la calle Aragón entre el bulevar Ponce de
León y la calle Galeano fue escenario de un intenso activismo
político a favor de las diversas candidaturas, con grito
de consignas, vistosas pancartas y jóvenes que buscaban
atraer la mayor cantidad posible de votantes.
En total, están inscritos con derecho a ejercer el voto
42,300 colombianos residentes en la Florida. ''No creo que vote
la mitad'', declaró Carmenza Jaramillo, la cónsul
colombiana que ayer coordinaba las operaciones electorales.
Jaramillo afirmó que no era inesperado que la participación
haya estado ''un poco floja''. ''La gente en el exterior participa
poco en las elecciones parlamentarias'', precisó.
Trajo a colación una segunda razón para explicar
la falta de presencia masiva en las mesas de votación: ''mucha
gente se fue para (el carnaval de) la Calle 8'', señaló Jaramillo
sin contener una sonrisa.
Para la circunscripción internacional, que permite la escogencia
de un candidato con los votos de los colombianos residentes en
el exterior, estaban contabilizados 31 aspirantes, 12 de ellos
en Estados Unidos y 5 de Miami.
''Lo que nos proponemos es influir en el gobierno colombiano para
que incluya en la agenda política la problemática
de los colombianos en el exterior'', dijo Alejandro Murcia Lamprea,
candidato a la Cámara de Representantes por la organización
Colombia Unida, y residente de Miami.
Aunque el proceso de votación se podía realizar
en cinco minutos, algunos se quejaron de la aparente complejidad
del tarjetón de votación.
''Voté con gusto, pero me pareció un poco confuso
porque hay muchos partidos políticos'', expresó Mayra
Vargas, estudiante de 21 años de Miami que votó ayer
por primera vez en su vida. ''Pude votar rápido porque ya
sabía por quien iba a votar'', acotó.
El representante estatal Juan Carlos Zapata dijo que recibió muchas
quejas por la complejidad de las boletas, principalmente por el
hecho de que incluyeron sólo los logos de los partidos y
no los nombres de los candidatos.
URIBE ALLIES HEADED FOR GAINS IN COLOMBIA VOTE
FUENTE: THE NEW YORK TIMES
FECHA: MARZO 13 DE 2006
By REUTERS
BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) - Colombian President Alvaro Uribe
appeared to have strengthened his grip on Congress in elections
on Sunday, setting the stage for passage of a U.S. free trade deal
and a toughening of security policy.
With more than 80 percent of the votes of the legislative election
counted, preliminary results showed a coalition of parties loyal
to the 53-year-old lawyer on course to secure majorities in both
houses of Congress.
Uribe, a favorite of Washington and Wall Street for his crackdown
on drug-running Marxist rebels and market-friendly economic policies,
is expected to win a second four-year term in May. He has had legislative
support but struggled to form reliable majorities needed to drive
through painful fiscal reforms.
``This is an endorsement of Uribe's security policies. So you
can expect the government's stance against the guerrillas to toughen,
at least until Uribe can drive them to the negotiating table,''
said German Espejo, an analyst with Bogota thinktank Security and
Democracy.
``These results point to a clear re-election victory for Uribe
in May,'' he said.
Uribe's Party of the U won 20 seats in the 102-member Senate,
followed by his allies the Conservatives and Radical Change with
18 and 15 seats respectively.
The opposition Liberal Party, headed by former President Cesar
Gaviria, won 17 Senate seats with the other main opposition group
Democratic Pole winning 11. Early results showed similar gains
for pro-Uribe parties in the lower house.
Turnout was less than half the 26.5 million registered voters.
``COMMITTED TO FREE TRADE''
Juan Carlos Echeverry, head of economics at Bogota's University
of the Andes, said the results indicated Congress will help Uribe
cement Colombia's place as the key U.S. ally in a region that has
been tilting leftward in recent elections.
``The parties that won today are committed to free trade and Uribe's
economic reform agenda. This is good news from the market's point
of view,'' Echeverry said.
The trade pact signed by Washington and Colombia last month needs
to be approved by lawmakers in both countries. Uribe wants Congress
to help him shift the tax burden from companies to consumers in
a bid to boost investment.
Uribe is popular in Colombia for cutting urban crime as part of
his military campaign against the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces
of Colombia, or FARC. The 41-year-old left-wing peasant army launched
a string of attacks in recent weeks aimed at scaring people away
from the polls.
The government has negotiated a peace deal with illegal right-wing
paramilitaries, under which about 28,000 fighters have turned in
their guns in exchange for reduced jail terms for crimes such as
massacre and torture.
Unlike the paramilitaries, the FARC has refused Uribe's terms
for negotiating a peace deal.
Politicians and analysts say the paramilitaries, organized as
private militias in the 1980s to fight the rebels, used Sunday's
election to try to increase their power in Congress, partly to
avoid being extradited to the United States on cocaine-smuggling
charges.
The paramilitaries gave crucial financial support to their favored
candidates while using death threats to hobble the campaigns of
some opposing candidates, politicians said during the campaign.
``The paramilitaries played a decisive role in this election,
particularly in the northern part of the country,'' Espejo said.
Dozens of mostly civilians have been killed in recent weeks by
the FARC, which traditionally steps up attacks at election time.
Thousands die and tens of thousands are forced from their homes
every year in Colombia's decades-old guerrilla war.
URIBE ALLIES HEADED FOR GAINS IN COLOMBIA VOTE
FUENTE: THE WASHINGTON POST
FECHA: MARZO 13 DE 2006SOURCE WEBSITE
By Hugh Bronstein
Reuters
Sunday, March 12, 2006; 11:33 PM
BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) - Colombian President Alvaro Uribe
appeared to have strengthened his grip on Congress in elections
on Sunday, setting the stage for passage of a U.S. free trade deal
and a toughening of security policy.
With more than 80 percent of the votes of the legislative election
counted, preliminary results showed a coalition of parties loyal
to the 53-year-old lawyer on course to secure majorities in both
houses of Congress.
Uribe, a favorite of Washington and Wall Street for his crackdown
on drug-running Marxist rebels and market-friendly economic policies,
is expected to win a second four-year term in May. He has had legislative
support but struggled to form reliable majorities needed to drive
through painful fiscal reforms.
"This is an endorsement of Uribe's security policies. So
you can expect the government's stance against the guerrillas to
toughen, at least until Uribe can drive them to the negotiating
table," said German Espejo, an analyst with Bogota thinktank
Security and Democracy.
"These results point to a clear re-election victory for Uribe
in May," he said.
Uribe's Party of the U won 20 seats in the 102-member Senate,
followed by his allies the Conservatives and Radical Change with
18 and 15 seats respectively.
The opposition Liberal Party, headed by former President Cesar
Gaviria, won 17 Senate seats with the other main opposition group
Democratic Pole winning 11. Early results showed similar gains
for pro-Uribe parties in the lower house.
Turnout was less than half the 26.5 million registered voters.
"COMMITTED TO FREE TRADE"
Juan Carlos Echeverry, head of economics at Bogota's University
of the Andes, said the results indicated Congress will help Uribe
cement Colombia's place as the key U.S. ally in a region that has
been tilting leftward in recent elections.
"The parties that won today are committed to free trade and
Uribe's economic reform agenda. This is good news from the market's
point of view," Echeverry said.
The trade pact signed by Washington and Colombia last month needs
to be approved by lawmakers in both countries. Uribe wants Congress
to help him shift the tax burden from companies to consumers in
a bid to boost investment.
Uribe is popular in Colombia for cutting urban crime as part of
his military campaign against the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces
of Colombia, or FARC. The 41-year-old left-wing peasant army launched
a string of attacks in recent weeks aimed at scaring people away
from the polls.
The government has negotiated a peace deal with illegal right-wing
paramilitaries, under which about 28,000 fighters have turned in
their guns in exchange for reduced jail terms for crimes such as
massacre and torture.
Unlike the paramilitaries, the FARC has refused Uribe's terms
for negotiating a peace deal.
Politicians and analysts say the paramilitaries, organized as
private militias in the 1980s to fight the rebels, used Sunday's
election to try to increase their power in Congress, partly to
avoid being extradited to the United States on cocaine-smuggling
charges.
The paramilitaries gave crucial financial support to their favored
candidates while using death threats to hobble the campaigns of
some opposing candidates, politicians said during the campaign.
"The paramilitaries played a decisive role in this election,
particularly in the northern part of the country," Espejo
said.
Dozens of mostly civilians have been killed in recent weeks by
the FARC, which traditionally steps up attacks at election time.
Thousands die and tens of thousands are forced from their homes
every year in Colombia's decades-old guerrilla war.
URIBE ALLIES HEADED FOR LANDSLIDE
FUENTE: THE MIAMI HERALD
FECHA: MARZO 13 DE 2006
Supporters of President Alvaro Uribe looked poised to take command
of the Senate, giving Uribe political support for his reelection
bid.
BY JOSHUA GOODMAN Associated Press
BOGOTA - Parties loyal to President Alvaro Uribe were headed toward
a landslide victory Sunday in congressional elections that the
government called the least violent in two decades.
With 34 percent of all votes counted, supporters of Uribe's all-out
war on leftist guerrillas looked poised to take 71 seats in Colombia's
senate, the totality of whose 102 seats were up for grabs.
Uribe is up for reelection on May 28, having amended the constitution
so he could seek a second consecutive term, which if successful
would make him the first president to do so in more than a century.
Leftist rebels, in an attempt to embarrass Uribe, had tried to
disrupt voting and were blamed for the death of more than two dozen
people in attacks across the nation's rural countryside in recent
weeks.
But with 200,000 soldiers deployed at polling stations across
the Andean nation, the voting was the safest in two decades, the
interior minister said.
The only incidents of violence reported were the burning of three
buses in the capital and a car bombing in the northwest province
of Choco. No one was injured in the attacks.
In open primaries, the opposition Liberal Party looked headed
to anoint veteran party boss Horacio Serpa its presidential candidate.
Serpa finished second to Uribe in the 2002 presidential race.
Carlos Gaviria, a former chief judge of Colombia's highest court,
looked to be chosen candidate for the smaller, left-leaning Democratic
Pole party.
According to recent polls, Uribe is on track to easily cross a
50-percent threshold to win a second term and avoid a runoff with
the next closest vote getter.
ALLIES OF COLOMBIA PRESIDENT SET FOR ELECTION WIN
FUENTE: FINANCIAL TIMES
FECHA: MARZO 13 DE 2006
By Andy Webb-Vidal in Bogotá
Supporters of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe on Sunday night
swept majority control of congress, according to projections based
on election results from over 80 per cent of polling centres.
Candidates from the three main parties that back Mr Uribe, plus
several smaller political organisations, were set to win around
70 per cent of seats in the 102-seat Senate, official results showed.
Government allies running for the 166-seat lower house were also
looking at a similar result, according to data compiled by the
electoral authorities at 11pm local time, seven hours after voting
stations closed.
If the final results fall in line with the projections, the prospect
of an absolute majority in the legislature would deliver a spectacular
boost for Mr Uribe two months ahead of presidential elections in
May.
Furthermore, support from the majority of lawmakers will allow
the government to secure passage of long-delayed tax and pension
reforms, as well as a recently negotiated free trade agreement
with the US.
Mr Uribe, who is popular for his tough policies designed to crush
a four-decade-old guerrilla insurgency financed by the drugs trade,
will be the first president in a century to run for an immediate
second term.
Opinion polls have suggested he will win re-election easily, a
view that is likely to be reinforced by what appears to be better-than-expected
results for the government in Sunday's congressional elections.
The support of a majority of lawmakers and Mr Uribe's likely re-election
will allow the authorities to make further inroads into winding
crushing rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia,
or Farc.
Legislative control will also allow a second Uribe administration
to secure passage of long-delayed tax and pension reforms, as well
as a recently-negotiated free trade agreement with the US.
The results of Sunday's elections appeared to demarcate a new
map of Colombia's political landscape.
In a stunning political debut, the Partido de la U, a centrist
party supportive of Mr Uribe and founded only a few months ago,
looked set to become the largest single party in the Senate, with
some 20 seats.
According to projections, Conservative party candidates, who also
support the government, and those from the pro-Uribe Cambio Radical
party, would become the second and fourth largest parties.
A major upset loomed for the opposition Liberal party, which looked
likely to have gained 17 seats, less than half the 30-35 seats
party chiefs had predicted.
The Polo Democrático Alternativo, a leftwing party, also
appeared to face disappointment, clinching only about 10 per cent
of votes cast.
Despite fears that the Farc would disrupt the elections, police
reported only a handful of incidents in rural areas carried out
by suspected rebels.
Rather than disruption from guerrillas, it was abstention that
appeared to have cast a blemish over the results. Over 26.5m Colombians
were eligible to vote yet the latest tally suggested that turnout
was only about 40 per cent.
AROUND THE WORLD
FUENTE: THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE
COLOMBIA - Voters in Colombia went to the polls Sunday to elect
both houses of Congress, and early returns showed overwhelming
support for candidates aligned with popular pro-U.S. President
Alvaro Uribe, who faces re-election in May. With 60 percent of
ballots counted, candidates affiliated with the seven parties tied
to Uribe were on the way to winning as many as two-thirds of 102
Senate seats, and a solid majority among the 166 seats in the lower
House of Representatives, said Alejo Vargas, of Bogota's National
University.
DENUNCIAN
INCURSIÓN COLOMBIANA EN TERRITORIO DE ECUADOR
FUENTE: EL NUEVO HERALD
Associated Press
QUITO - Dos avionetas colombianas invadieron el espacio aéreo
ecuatoriano desde donde dispararon hacia grupos irregulares armados
que estaban en su territorio, denunció el lunes la gobernadora
de la provincia de Sucumbíos, Nancy Armijos.
En declaraciones telefónicas a la AP, expresó que "el
sábado a las 23.00 horas recibí una llamada de los
moradores de Puerto Nuevo que se produjo una incursión aérea
colombiana".
"Llegaron dos aviones colombianos y desde nuestro sector
atacaron (a bala) al sector de ellos, la gente ecuatoriana estaba
asustada nerviosa, porque no sabían si la situación
se salía de sus manos", señaló.
Puerto Nuevo se encuentra en la frontera de Ecuador con Colombia,
unos 215 kilómetros al noreste de Quito, en una zona selvática
de la amazonia de Sucumbíos.
Anteriormente, se produjo una incursión colombiana en la
zona de La Bermeja, ocurrió el 28 de enero, cuando dos avionetas
y tres helicópteros de ese país violaron el espacio
aéreo ecuatoriano, lo que derivó en reclamos y en
el retiro del embajador ecuatoriano en Bogotá. El incidente
fue superado tras las disculpas del gobierno colombiano.
El 24 de diciembre y el 10 de noviembre del 2005, también
se denunciaron sendas incursiones colombianas a territorio ecuatoriano.
La AP llamó al ministerio de Defensa, donde no proporcionaron
de inmediato una reacción de la situación. La cancillería
tampoco se ha pronunciado.
U.S. COUNTERING CHAVEZ TACTICS
FUENTE: THE HARTFORD COURANT
Moves Afoot To Isolate Venezuela's Outspoken Anti-American Leader
By PAUL RICHTER
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration is stepping up efforts to
counter the attempts of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to build
a unified opposition to U.S. influence in a region that is drifting
politically to the left.
U.S. diplomats have sought in recent years to mute their conflicts
with Chavez, fearing that a war of words with the flamboyant populist
could raise his stature at home and abroad. But in recent months,
as Chavez has sharpened his attacks - and touched American nerves
by increasing ties with Iran - American officials have become more
outspoken about their intentions to isolate him.
Signaling the shift, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told
Congress last month that the United States is actively organizing
other countries to carry out an "inoculation strategy" against
what it sees as meddling by Chavez.
U.S. officials view Chavez's use of his oil-generated wealth to
help opposition groups in countries such as Nicaragua, Colombia
and Peru as an attempt to destabilize regimes friendly to the U.S.
"We are working with other countries to make certain that
there is a united front against some of the things that Venezuela
gets involved in," said Rice, who called Venezuela a "sidekick" of
Iran.
As part of the new U.S. view of Venezuela, U.S. defense and intelligence
officials have revised their assessment of the security threat
Venezuela poses to the region. They say they believe Venezuela
will have growing military and diplomatic relationships with North
Korea and Iran, and point with concern to its arms buildup. Of
equal concern is that country's overhaul of its military doctrine,
which now emphasizes "asymmetric warfare" - a strategy
of sabotage and hit-and-run attacks against a greater military
power, much like those used by Iraqi insurgents.
The administration's revived interest in Latin America comes at
a time when Congress has been pressing the Bush administration
to define its strategy amid a growing number of clashes with the
Chavez government:
Last month, the United States and Venezuela engaged in a diplomatic
tit-for-tat reminiscent of the Cold War when they traded espionage
accusations against each others' diplomats, then expelled them.
The two countries have clashed on airspace and landing rights
for civilian and military aircraft, as the United States has sought
to block Venezuela's long-shot bid to become a non-permanent member
of the United Nations Security Council.
Venezuela has threatened to end the oil sales that provide the
United States with about 12 percent of its imports and has begun
rewriting its contracts with U.S. oil companies.
The tougher U.S. approach also reflects an American interest in
trying to head off any further leftist inroads in upcoming elections
in the region. Thirteen governments face re-election this year
in Latin America, and Chavez has made known his support for opposition
candidates in several of the countries, including Mexico, which
elects its president in July.
"There is some concern that if the United States doesn't
play its cards right, there could be a major policy shift in the
region that favors Venezuela's interests over the United States," said
Daniel P. Erikson, of the Inter-American dialogue, a research organization
in Washington.
Since he took office in 1999, Chavez has been trying to build
a left-leaning alliance and has offered cut-rate oil and other
inducements through a foreign aid program some believe to be worth
billions of dollars per year. His stated aim is to push an alternative
development model that eases the sting of globalism and favors
the interests of the poor, who make up about 40 percent of the
region's population.
Many observers are skeptical that Chavez has much appeal beyond
Fidel Castro's Cuba and impoverished Bolivia, but U.S. officials
are concerned that his efforts could foment violence in unstable
countries and weaken Latin American support for the American program
of free-market economics and American-style governance.
Even as the administration has toughened its approach, there appear
to be differing views within the U.S. government on how to deal
with Venezuela.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld last month likened Chavez
to Adolf Hitler, saying that both leaders were elected legally.
At the same time, Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte,
appearing before the Senate last week, said Chavez was spending "very
extravagantly" to build alliances, and was seeking to strengthen
ties with Iran, North Korea, and Cuba.
AS WAR BEGAN, U.S. GENERALS FEUDED
FUENTE: INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE
FECHA: MARZO 13 DE 2006
By Michael R. Gordon and Bernard E. Trainor
The New York Times
The Iraq war was barely a week old when General Tommy Franks threatened
to fire the U.S. Army's field commander.
From the first day of the invasion, in March 2003, American forces
had tangled with thousands of Saddam Fedayeen paramilitary fighters.
General William Wallace, who was leading the army's 5th Corps toward
Baghdad, had told two reporters that his soldiers needed to delay
their advance on the Iraqi capital to suppress the Fedayeen threat
in the rear.
Soon after, Franks phoned Lieutenant General David McKiernan,
the head of allied land forces, to warn that he might relieve Wallace.
The firing was averted after McKiernan flew to meet Franks. But
the episode revealed the deep disagreements within the U.S. high
command about the Iraqi military threat and what would be required
to defeat it.
The dispute, related by senior military officers and their aides
in interviews, had lasting consequences. The unexpected tenacity
of the Fedayeen in the battles for Nasiriya, Samawa, Najaf and
other towns on the road to Baghdad was an early indication that
the adversary was not merely Saddam Hussein's vaunted Republican
Guard.
The paramilitary Fedayeen were numerous, well armed, dispersed
throughout the country and seemingly determined to fight to the
death. But while many officers in the field assessed the Fedayeen
as a dogged foe, Franks and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld saw
them as little more than a speed bump on the way to Baghdad.
Three years later, Iraq has yet to be subdued. While the outcome
of the drive to Baghdad is clear, how some of the key decisions
in the war were made and some significant episodes are largely
unknown.
Among them:
A U.S. Marine Corps intelligence officer warned after the bloody
battle at Nasiriya, the first major fight of the war, that the
Fedayeen would continue to mount attacks after the fall of Baghdad
since many of the fighters were being bypassed in the race to the
capital.
In an extraordinary improvisation, Ahmad Chalabi, the Iraqi exile
leader who was a Pentagon favorite, was flown to southern Iraq
with hundreds of his fighters as Franks's command sought to put
an "Iraqi face" on the invasion. The plan was set in
motion without the knowledge of top administration officials, including
Secretary of State Colin Powell and George Tenet, the CIA director.
Instead of sending additional troops to stabilize the country
after the fall of Baghdad, Rumsfeld and Franks canceled the deployment
of the 1st Cavalry Division. McKiernan was unhappy with the decision,
which was made at a time when ground forces were needed to deal
with the chaos in Iraq.
This account of decision-making inside the U.S. command is based
on interviews with dozens of military officers and government officials.
Some asked to remain unnamed because they were speaking about sensitive
internal deliberations that they were not authorized to discuss
publicly.
As American-led forces prepared to invade Iraq, U.S. intelligence
was not projecting a major fight in southern Iraq. CIA officials
told U.S. commanders that anti-Saddam tribes might secure a vital
Euphrates River bridge and provide other support. Tough resistance
was not expected until army and marine troops began to close in
on Baghdad.
Almost from the start, however, the troops found themselves fighting
the Fedayeen and Baath Party paramilitary forces. The Fedayeen
was formed in the mid-1990s to suppress any Shiite revolts. Equipped
with rocket-propelled grenades and small arms, they wore civilian
dress and were positioned in southern Iraq. The first American
to die in combat was shot by a paramilitary fighter.
After Nasiriya, Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Apodaca, a Marine intelligence
officer, drafted a classified message concluding that the Fedayeen
would continue to be a threat. Many had sought sanctuary in small
towns that were bypassed in the rush to Baghdad.
The colonel compared the Fedayeen to insurgencies in Nicaragua,
El Salvador and Colombia and warned that unless U.S. soldiers went
after them in force, the enemy would continue their attacks after
Baghdad fell, hampering efforts to stabilize Iraq.
At the land war headquarters, there was growing concern about
the Fedayeen as well. On March 28, McKiernan flew to the Jaliba
airfield to huddle with his army and Marine commanders. Wallace
reported that his troops had managed to contain the Iraqi paramilitary
forces but that the American hold on them was tenuous.
Fedayeen were moving between the towns of Samawa and Najaf.
"I am not sure how many of the knuckleheads there are," he
said, according to notes taken by a military aide.
Lieutenant General James Conway, the top Marine field commander,
was also impressed by the fighters' tenacity. The towering former
football player said the resistance was tougher than he had anticipated;
bypassed enemy units were attacking U.S. supply lines.
McKiernan concluded that the United States faced two "centers
of gravity": the Republican Guard, concentrated near Baghdad,
and the Fedayeen. He decided to suspend the march to the capital
for several days while continuing airstrikes and engaging the Fedayeen.
Only then, he figured, would conditions be right for the final
assault into Baghdad to remove Saddam from power. When he returned
to his headquarters in Kuwait, though, he learned of the furor
over comments by Wallace to the press.
"The enemy we're fighting is a bit different than the one
we war-gamed against, because of these paramilitary forces," Wallace
had said to The New York Times and The Washington Post. "We
knew they were here, but we did not know how they would fight."
Asked whether the fighting increased the chances of a longer war
than forecast by some military planners, he responded, "It's
beginning to look that way."
To Franks, those remarks apparently were tantamount to a vote
of no-confidence in his war plan. It relied on speed, and he had
told Rumsfeld that his forces might take Baghdad in just a few
weeks.
In Washington, Wallace's comments were seized on by critics as
evidence that Rumsfeld had not sent enough troops.
More than a year earlier, he had ridiculed the initial war plan
that called for at least 380,000 troops and had pushed the military's
Central Command to use fewer soldiers and deploy them more quickly.
At a Pentagon news conference, the defense secretary denied that
he had any role in shaping the war plan.
"It was not my plan," he said. "It was General
Franks's plan, and it was a plan that evolved over a sustained
period of time."
Privately, Rumsfeld hinted at his impatience with his generals.
Newt Gingrich, the former Republican House speaker and a Rumsfeld
adviser, forwarded a supportive memo from Colonel Doug Macgregor,
who had long assailed the army leadership as risk averse. In a
blistering attack, Macgregor denounced the decision to suspend
the advance. Replying to Gingrich, the secretary wrote: "Thanks
for the Macgregor piece. Nobody up here is thinking like this."
McKiernan, for his part, was stunned by the threat to fire Wallace. "Talk
about unhinging ourselves," he told Lieutenant General John
Abizaid, Franks's deputy, according to officials at Franks's headquarters.
At Franks's headquarters in Qatar the next day, McKiernan made
the case against removing Wallace. Retired General Gary Luck, an
adviser to Franks, said Wallace was not one to shrink from a fight.
Wallace survived, but the strategy debate was far from over.
Hoping the resistance would fade if the invasion had an Iraqi
face, Franks's command turned to an unlikely ally.
Chalabi, who had been long been pushing for Saddam's ouster and
was championed by some Pentagon officials, was based in northern
Kurdistan with his fighters. An American colonel, Ted Seel, was
assigned as a military liaison.
On March 27, he was asked to call Abizaid's office. The general
asked Seel how many fighters Chalabi had and if he would be willing
to deploy them.
Chalabi said he could field as many as 1,000, but Seel thought
700 was more accurate. The U.S. Air Force could fly them in to
the Tallil air base just south of Nasiriya.
Anxious to reassure the White House that he had an Iraqi ally,
Franks told Bush in a videoconference that 1,000 Iraqi freedom
fighters would be joining the American-led forces. Frank Miller,
the senior National Security Council deputy for defense issues,
was taken aback.
Unlike a small group of Iraq exiles recruited by the Pentagon
and trained in Hungary, these fighters had not been screened or
trained by the U.S. military.
He approached Tenet of the CIA. Who are these freedom fighters?
he asked, according to an official who was present. Tenet said
he had no idea.
When the airlift finally started in early April, about 570 fighters
were ready. As the C-17s were being loaded, Chalabi wanted to go
as well.
Abizaid objected, arguing in an exchange with Paul Wolfowitz,
the deputy defense secretary, that the military command should
not be taking sides in future Iraqi politics by flying a potential
Iraqi leader to southern Iraq, but Wolfowitz did not yield.
Abizaid had solicited Chalabi's fighters, he pointed out, and
they did not want to go without their leader, according to officials
familiar with the exchange.
When Abizaid awoke the next day, Chalabi was at Tallil. His fighters
would never play a meaningful role in the war. They arrived without
their arms and were not well supervised by the U.S. Special Forces.
But Chalabi, now the deputy prime minister of Iraq, proved to be
undeterred. After arriving at Tallil, he drove to Nasiriya and
delivered a rousing speech. It was the beginning of his political
comeback.
Determined to spur his ground commanders to renew the push to
Baghdad, Franks flew to McKiernan's headquarters in Kuwait on March
31, where he delivered some harsh criticism.
Only the British and the Special Operations forces had been fighting,
he complained, according to several participants in the meeting.
Franks asked if the 3rd Infantry Division had had a serious tank
engagement and warned of the embarrassment that would follow if
they failed.
The resistance around Karbala on the army's route to Baghdad was
minor - he described it as "crust work" - and easily
crushed. He expressed frustration that neither McKiernan nor the
Marines had forced the destruction of Iraq's 10th and 6th army
divisions, units the Marines and McKiernan viewed as severely weakened
by airstrikes, far from the invasion route and little threat.
The most controversial portion of the session occurred when Franks
indicated that he did not intend to be slowed by overly cautious
generals obsessed with holding casualties to a minimum, although
nobody had raised the issue of casualties. After the session, McKiernan
approached Major General Albert Whitley, his top British deputy
and a friend with whom he had served in Sarajevo.
"That conversation never happened," McKiernan told Whitley,
according to military officials who learned of the exchange.
An aide to Franks disputed the account of Franks's threat to fire
Wallace and his discussions with his commanders, but he did not
address specifics.
By April 2, American forces were closing in on the capital. Even
before the war, Rumsfeld saw the deployment of U.S. forces more
in terms of what was needed to win the war than to secure the peace.
With the tide in America's favor, he began to raise the issue
of canceling the deployment of the 1st Cavalry Division's 16,000
soldiers. Franks eventually went along. Although the general insisted
he was not pressured to agree, he later acknowledged that the defense
secretary had put the issue on the table.
"Don Rumsfeld did in fact make the decision to off-ramp the
1st Cavalry Division," Franks said in a 2004 interview.
McKiernan, the senior U.S. general in Iraq at the time, was unhappy
about the decision but did not protest.
Three years later, with thousands of lives lost in the tumult
of Iraq, senior officers say that canceling the division was a
major mistake, one that reduced the number of U.S. forces just
as the Fedayeen, former soldiers and Arab jihadists were beginning
to organize in what would become an insurgency.
Jack Keane, a retired army general who served as the acting chief
of staff during the summer of 2003, said: "The Baathist insurgency
surprised us, and we had not developed a comprehensive option for
dealing with this possibility, one that would have included more
military police, civil affairs units, interrogators, interpreters
and Special Operations forces."
He added: "If we had planned for an insurgency, we probably
would have deployed the 1st Cavalry Division and it would have
assisted greatly with the initial occupation. This was not just
an intelligence community failure, but also our failure as senior
military leaders."
BORDER SAGA IN SONG, WITH MIGRANT AS HERO
FUENTE: LOS ANGELES TIMES
FECHA. MARZO 13 DE 2006
In "Mojado," Ricardo Arjona adds his voice to the heated
debate on a divisive topic. By Agustin Gurza, Times Staff Writer
In the provocative new music video for his latest single, "Mojado" --
or "Wetback" -- popular Latin American singer-songwriter
Ricardo Arjona stands on a Tijuana beach at the dividing line between
Mexico and the United States. Stretching behind him is the controversial
new wall being built to separate the two countries. In front of
him is the vast, unfenced sea.
The jarring juxtaposition underscores the pro-immigrant message
of this Guatemalan-born artist: Man may make borders, but God created
the Earth for everybody. In a Spanish-language verse that is bound
to inflame the already superheated debate on the issue, Arjona
cloaks illegal immigration in a mantle of morality:
Why do they chase you, Wetback / If the Consul in the heavens
has already granted you a visa?
Though the video was filmed on Mexico's northern border, Arjona
says the lyric applies equally to its southern frontier with his
native country where Guatemalans are allegedly mistreated trying
to enter Mexico.
"Without a doubt, the solution lies less with the United
States than with our own countries because they have been unable
to sustain their own sons and daughters on their own land, forcing
them to look elsewhere for what they can't find at home," Arjona
said in a phone interview from his home in Miami. "Now that
doesn't mean that people who cross the border without papers should
be treated like animals. That's another story."
With "Mojado," the singer launches the latest salvo
in one of the most divisive issues facing the U.S. today. He also
echoes the views of Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, who recently championed
the cause of the undocumented during a defiant Ash Wednesday sermon,
urging priests to oppose a proposed law requiring churches to check
immigration documents before offering assistance to the needy.
Arjona says the momentum of the debate so far has been unfairly
tilted toward border-control advocates, prompting him to speak
out on the other side.
"People get used to hearing the news every day on television
or in the papers, but when you hear it in a song, the problem takes
on a different shading," he said. "I felt bombarded by
the constant assault of news ... people who die trying to cross,
the speeches from politicians who came as immigrants to this country
and now stand completely against other immigrants. It all hit me
as an author and this song is the result."
There is a long and storied tradition of Mexican artists speaking
out in support of undocumented immigrants. One of the most popular
and audacious examples is the 1980s norteño classic by mariachi
superstar Vicente Fernandez, "Los Mandados," in which
an illegal immigrant boasts about being deported hundreds of times
and admits beating up gringos as revenge for beatings he suffered
at the hands of La Migra.
But this is the first time in recent memory that a Guatemalan
artist, especially one of Arjona's stature, has weighed in on the
issue musically, and with a video that is being broadcast on Spanish-language
music stations in the United States.
For "Mojado," Arjona joined forces with one of the most
popular norteño bands, Texas-based Intocable. The unusual
duet -- combining artists and styles from separate pop music realms
-- adds power to the song and weight to its message.
"I think the song can be easily adapted to any reality," said
Arjona. "It could apply to Spain's reality with the people
from Africa, and to many other places. In fact, it's a universal
problem that confronts us constantly -- the enormous discrimination
that exists against these people, the little worth that is given
to their huge labor force."
The U.S. Border Patrol gave permission for the two-day shoot in
November, says the video's Los Angeles-based director, Simon Brand.
But the federal agency also issued a warning in case a crew member
decided to slip illegally into the country: "If we see someone
running, we're going to shut you guys down."
The black-and-white video -- which also features interviews with
migrants poised to cross the border illegally -- was recorded at
various locations near the I-5 junction with the border in Chula
Vista. At the beach site near a Tijuana bullring, the border wall
being built by the U.S. remains under construction. Posts have
been placed in the sand, leaving enough open space between them
for somebody to walk through.
If viewers could pan back for a wider shot, they'd see the cinematographer's
dolly track laid out on the beach, straddling both countries on
a strip of sand. The moving camera was able to go where the predominantly
Mexican video crew could not -- back and forth freely from one
side of the border to the other. The Border Patrol's fears were
ultimately unfounded: Mexican crew members were so worried about
making a false step they almost tiptoed when coming right up to
the line to take close-up shots of border markers.
"I just found it very interesting that you take one step
and you're in another country," said Brand in a phone interview
from his native Bogota, Colombia. "The crew was very sensitive
about not stepping on the U.S. side, but all the immigrants we
were shooting, they didn't care. They weren't nervous at all."
Brand was in Colombia to cast his new feature film, "Paraiso
Travel," about a star-crossed Colombian couple who immigrate
through Mexico to New York in pursuit of happiness, only to find
hardship. Although he was familiar with immigration issues, he
says he learned much about its human dimension while talking to
real migrants for the "Mojado" video shoot.
One man, he said, had lived in the U.S. for 30 years and was working
at a naval base painting ships when he was deported. He was poised
to cross the border and get back to his family and the only world
he had known since childhood.
"When you hear their stories, it's so moving," says
Brand, 35, who became a naturalized citizen after immigrating to
the U.S. 16 years ago. "I'm an American, and I always hear
what we have to say, but you never hear the other side of the story.
That's what I was exposed to now, and it was very compelling to
me."
Known for his socially conscious songs, Arjona, was honored in
Los Angeles this week by ASCAP, the composers and songwriters association,
with its Heritage Award for his career contributions to Latin music.
He originally wrote "Mojado" three years ago for solo
acoustic guitar and had planned to perform it on "Premios
Lo Nuestro," a popular Latin music award show airing nationally
on the Univision television network. But he says producers thought
the theme was "too strong" compared to the normally tame
fare on Spanish-language TV.
Arjona resurrected the number for his recent album, "Adentro," and
Intocable added the norteño arrangement. The new version
starts with Arjona's original mournful guitar, then breaks into
the punchy, accordion-driven beat that is so popular among Mexican
migrants.
The upbeat treatment, says the songwriter, makes a somber topic
much more accessible to the public. "I was surprised how the
song was transformed by the arrangement," Arjona says. "It
gives the tune a power it didn't have before."
"Mojado" debuted at No. 50 this week on Billboard's
Hot Latin Tracks; it ranks No. 27 for airplay on regional Mexican
stations, according to Radio & Records, a trade magazine.
Arjona admits it's not the kind of number that burns up the charts,
but he's satisfied that it's been steadily finding a receptive
audience: "A song never starts a revolution ... but it can
provide the accompaniment."
THAILAND, CHILE AGREE TO CONDUCT FREE-TRADE PACT STUDY
FUENTE: THE PEOPLE’S DAILY (CHINA)
FECHA. MARZO 13 DE 2004
Thailand and Chile have agreed to carry out a feasibility study
this year to pave the way for the signing of a bilateral free trade
agreement (FTA), local press reported Sunday.
During a meeting between newly-elected Chilean President Michelle
Bachelet and visiting Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon in
Santiago Friday, Kantathi praised Chile for its economic success
and spoke highly of the country's free trade policies, which have
boosted the competitiveness of its private sector.
Both sides saw it necessary to strengthen economic and other ties
and emphasized the need to complete a feasibility study on a Thailand-Chile
FTA this year.
Kantathi urged the establishment of partnerships between Thai
small and medium enterprises and Chilean companies in the field
of biotechnology, reported Bangkok Post newspaper.
Other areas of potential cooperation between the two countries
include hotel and restaurant industries and tourism.
Thailand considers Chile as a gateway to more trade and investment
in Latin America, and Chile views Thailand as a breakthrough for
the enhancement of trade and investment ties with Southeast Asia.
During a visit to Colombia, Kantathi and the Vice-President Francisco
Santos explored the possibility to develop the FTA.
In Bolivia, Kantathi met with his counterpart David Choquehuanca
Cespedes and discussed ways to promote economic development.
Kantathi is on a visit to Latin America covering Chile, Colombia
and Bolivia. He is scheduled to return to Bangkok on Tuesday.
COLOMBIA CAPTURES SUBMARINE SUSPECTED OF HAULING DRUG
FUENTE: THE PEOPLE’S DAILY (CHINA)
FECHA: MARZO 13 DE 2006
Colombia's navy seized a submarine that may have been used by
drug traffickers to haul over 4 tons of cocaine for transshipment
to the United States.
The 18-meter-long vessel, made of fiberglass, was discovered at
sea on Thursday some 45 km from the Pacific Coast port of Buenaventura,
said Adm. Guillermo Barrera, the navy's chief of operations.
Three people were arrested and two speedboats seized in the operation,
but no drug was found.
Adm. Barrera said the submarine brought drug shipments to the
middle of the Pacific Ocean, where they would be received by speedboats
bound for Central America, and then dispatched to the U.S. by land.
Drug trafficking by sea has been rampant recent years, as a wide
application of radar system has made it hard to smuggle drug by
land and air. |
