If Brock Vond's in heaven...

Doug Millison doug at dougmillison.com
Thu Sep 28 23:23:27 CDT 2000


...it might be here:

"[....] a new command and control center in Bogota exemplifies the 
extent to which the Colombian military is depending on Washington. 
The Defense Ministry has established a sophisticated and expensive 
new center linking the Colombian military directly to the U.S. 
national security establishment. Though funded by the Colombians at a 
cost of $545,000, the center relies on state-of-the-art U.S. 
technology. The center links the Colombian army's U.S.-trained and 
financed anti-narcotics battalions by satellite, computer and 
microwave technology directly to the Pentagon, the U.S. Southern 
Command (SOUTHCOM), the Central Intelligence Agency, the Drug 
Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and 
the State Department.  The new center will coordinate the efforts of 
the three U.S.-trained battalions of the Colombian Army in their 
effort to eradicate FARC-controlled coca plantations in the south. 
That's about 3,000 troops, backed by 60 transport and assault 
helicopters. Officially, Colombian personnel will operate the new 
center, while U.S. military personnel will only provide training, 
logistical and intelligence support. The U.S. military group, 
however, will likely play a more prominent role. The Pentagon wants 
to assign U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Keith Huber, SOUTHCOM's operations 
director, to the U.S. embassy in Bogota to command U.S. military 
personnel in Colombia. The Pentagon's desire to send a general 
officer indicates the importance of the post. Huber would not report 
to the U.S. ambassador, but rather directly to SOUTHCOM and the 
Pentagon. "

http://www.stratfor.com/latinamerica/analysis/0009290035.htm



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