On one side is Gilman, who supports the Colombian aid and wants to see the United States help the Colombian National Police as much as it can. On the other side are opponents of the aid, skeptical that it can be limited to the drug fight without having the United States get drawn into Colombia's 36-year war with leftist guerrillas. Those battalions will fight guerrillas, who are financing their insurgency by protecting drug producers. The package will also shift the focus of U.S. aid from the police, whose main task is fighting drugs, to the army, whose main task is fighting guerrillas. U.S. officials have insisted they will not cross the line between fighting drug trafficking and fighting the rebels.
Opponents say that's a tough distinction to make.
It's very unclear what's counternarcotics and what's counterinsurgency. The July 15 attack in the southwestern Colombia town of Roncesvalles did not appear to be tied to any counternarcotics operation. The officers spent 27 hours fighting off an attack by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, according to police. When they ran out of ammunition, they tried to surrender. Each officer was shot point-blank in the head.