Now some people are getting cold feet. Rep. Benjamin Gilman, chairman of the House International Relations Committee, has done an about-face. It showers money on the Colombian military, but the Colombian military is a major part of the problem in that country.
Paramilitaries operate with impunity under the nose of the Colombian armed forces.
Critics wisely warn that adding more helicopters and military aid to the mix could well escalate the conflict with leftist guerrillas, who operate with drug traffickers, and drag the U.S. into another civil war. The Colombian army has shown itself to be manifestly ineffective so far in fighting drug traffic in the south. There were plenty of human rights organizations warning Clinton and Congress about the downside of Plan Colombia. So Gilman's abrupt reversal is welcome, but tragically late. Nor does it go far enough.