Plan Colombia

This is the unit 2 action project for my Policy Class. Unit 2 was titled Execute and focused on purpose and powers of America's Executive branch and how those powers have been executed throughout our history. Students evaluated what the executive branch is and how it functions. The class learned how and who makes our policies. An important aspect of the unit was evaluating if a policy is right or wrong. For the units AP students were asked to select a war the US was involved in and determine if it was just or unjust. I really enjoyed this entire unit and especially the action project. I thought it asked us to show mastery of many of the important aspects of the unit and I loved being able to select a topic and dive deep into it! 

Aerial Spraying, 2016, TheGuardian.com

The War on Drugs is an ongoing international campaign initiated by the United States that uses military aid and intervention, as well as drug prohibition to attempt to reduce the drug trade. This war is rooted in a set of policies that aim to combat the production, distribution, and consumption of illicit drugs. On June 18th, 1971, President Nixon declared that drugs were “public enemy number one” and a war against an opponent with no agenda began. The war on drugs is an umbrella term for a variety of United States foreign policy and covert military activities that took place in the United States as well as South and Central America beginning in the 70’s and continuing on today. The United States rationale for engaging in the War on Drugs arises from their inflated ego which feels it's required to police the world in order to protect American democracy and values. America felt obligated to intervene due to their desire to control the conflict and eventually destroy it. One such US operation, known as Plan Colombia, provided billions of dollars in military aid, training, as well as equipment to the Colombian government to battle insurgent groups and drug cartels. Plan Colombia was unjust because it was a costly plan which employed techniques that had previously been implemented in the war but failed tremendously.

The plan was originally created between 1998 and 1999 by Colombian President Pastrana and US President Bill Clinton with the goals of ending the Colombian armed conflict and drug trade. Prior to Plan Colombia, President Clinton had been actively battling the War on Drugs. In 1993 Clinton raised the Office of National Drug Control Policy, which was implemented in 1989 under President Bush, to cabinet-level status. Plan Colombia was in essence a plan for Colombia's peace and was originally presented to President Clinton in a moral context. President Pastrana requested an increase in US aid for counter attacking illicit drugs, creating sustainable economic development, securing human rights, and establishing humanitarian aid. President Pastrana understood the importance of the US and their money and outlined an official document which would sufficiently address US concerns. Clinton and his administration’s input into the plan was significant and focused primarily on achieving peace and ending violence through the destruction of the Colombian drug industry. Clinton and his administration involved the US in this sector of the war because they felt it was necessary for national security. The near-collapse of Colombian democratic governance which which was a product of the armed conflict and drug trade captivated the attention of US policy makers. Congress supported Clinton’s actions in regards to the plan. US drug czar General Barry Mccaffrey declared that Columbia was in a state of emergency regardless of the fact that neither of the Colombian insurgent groups posed any threat to US security. The plan was sold to policy makers and the US public as a necessary component of the ongoing war on drugs.

Plan Colombia was widely criticized due to the claim that the Colombian Forces were involved in supporting the right wing parliamentary forces. Another controversial component of the plan was the aerial sprays intended to eradicate the coca crop. The US had previosuly attempted aerial eradication on Mexican weed crops as well as Colombian coca crop, both costed tremendous amounts of money and resources and failed miserably. The aerial sprays apart of plan Colombia not only failed to complete their intended mission but damaged legal crops and created adverse health effects. The aerial spraying of illicit crops was unsuccessful in reducing the supply and had negative social and environmental impacts. The attempted eradication failed partly due to the balloon effect, which meant when one cultivation area was sprayed, another would pop up and continue on. Colombia has remained the world’s largest producer of coca throughout the years regardless of the many attempts to halt or slow down production. The sprays were completely contradictory to many of the plans main intentions in relation to human rights and humanitarian aid. Thousands of civilians were displaced and had their income and food supply threatened. The failed attempts have left a ripple effect which is still felt socially and environmentally today. Congress was unable to see their plan failing and in 1999 tried to employ a mycoherbicide called Fusarium Oxysporum which had been questioned by environmentalists and then finally opposed by the Colombian Government.

Plan Colombia was completely unjust due to its effect on American taxpayers and the people of Colombia. The US spent nearly $8 billion on plan Colombia over nearly a ten year period. The US failed to eradicate the coca crop like they had hoped and did very little to slow or stop the drug trade. They destroyed more than they helped and wasted the countries money and resources. The US attempted to implement a police and military solution to a problem they had no involvement in or relation to. These intervention attempts resulted in lots of money spent, lots of lives lost and an harmed environment. Overall, Plan Colombia was an unjust part of a much larger unjust war.

Sources:

Angell, Tom (December 10, 2012). "Does Bill Clinton Support Legalizing Marijuana?". Huffington Post. Retrieved October 28, 2014.

"AllGov - Departments." AllGov - Departments. Web. 15 May 2016.

"Plan Colombia: A Retrospective." Americas Quarterly. Web. 16 May 2016.

Weiser, Benjamin. (September 5, 2012) FARC – Revolutionary Armed forces of Colombia" The New York Times.

Stokes, Doug (2005). America's Other War: Terrorizing Colombia. Zed Books.